Son of a Devil - Luffy
by Youngsoul
Summary: Instead of growing up in the peaceful Foosha, Luffy gets taken away by the marines when his grandfather is unable to protect his true identity – making his road to becoming the greatest pirate a bit rougher. No pairings.
1. Chapter 1 - Son of a devil

**Hi readers!**

 **So this idea popped into my head one day: "What if Luffy - like Ace - would have been seen as a threat to the world just because of his existence?" and so this story was born! In this story, Dragon has started his revolution before Luffy is born, and so he is seen as a big threat to the world already, which is different from the original story. I can't remember the details of everything about the original story, so feel free to point out if there's some fact that I am ignoring or the characters seem really off.**

 **Without further ado, I hope you will enjoy this story.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 1 - The son of a devil**_

* * *

The sun had almost completely disappeared into the horizon far ahead, behind the desert that seemed to stretch on forever, as two men stood on the edge of a hill, staring at the final rays of light. They were both quiet at first, letting the situation truly sink in.

"Garp," the other man started, clearly much younger than his companion who stood behind him. "This will be the last time we meet. I have become an existence that the World Government will no longer be able to ignore and so I must move to a safe location."

The older man shifted his weight and unconsciously crossed his arms. "What makes you think I won't just capture you right now?"

The younger man smiled. "I'm sure you would have done it by now."

The marine sighed deeply and closed his eyes for a moment. "You must realize that this is the last time I will be lenient on you," he said before eyeing the figure in front of him. "I can't help you after this – even if you are my son."

There was a pregnant pause before the younger said, "there is one thing I would want your help with."

The older went rigid with anger instantly. "I just told you – I can't help you any-"

"-It's not for me," the other interrupted and finally turned around to meet his father's eyes. "It's for my child."

The marine's mouth dropped open and his eyes went wide at the news. "Y-your child? When did you-?!"

"-My child hasn't been born yet, but I can't take care of them now that I have become so infamous. My lifestyle is going to be filled with war and death; it's not a place to grow a child."

Garp frowned, not liking where this was going.

"Garp, a newborn child bears no sins. Just because I am a criminal doesn't mean my child carries that same fate. I am asking this as your son – please take care of my child."

The marine gritted his teeth and closed his fists. "You outlaws are all selfish. Leaving your children without their fathers to grow up with..." the man muttered before meeting his son's confident smile.

"Girl or a boy – make sure that child grows up strong and free," the man said before lifting up the hood of his cloak and turning around to leave.

"Wait! I haven't even given my consent yet!" the older man shouted, earning a laugh from his son.

"I'm sure you'll do fine. It's not your first time raising a 'D'-child after all," the man laughed while waving his hand as a sign of 'goodbye'. "You'll find them in Foosha."

Garp knew he could still stop his son and tell him to throw the responsibility on someone else. However, just like three years ago, he was unable to. He knew that if he refused, his son's child would eventually be found and executed along with their mother. For the love he still had towards his son and for the sake of saving an innocent child – Garp stayed silent.

"Ah!" the departing man sudden shouted and stopped before glancing at his father over his shoulder. "I almost forgot, my child's name will be-"

* * *

"-Luffy. That's what he will be called," Garp said as he was holding the crying infant for the first time.

Luffy was crying – loud and clear – as he had just moments ago taken his first breaths. The young girl, who had assisted with the delivery, had already cleaned the baby and wrapped him up in a blanket before giving him to the marine.

The man stared down at the child for a moment before looking at the dark-haired woman on the bed sadly. "I'm sorry that I couldn't help you. I will keep him safe, not only for Dragon but also for you."

The woman still wore a small smile on her face, even though her lips were turning blue as her body went cold.

The young girl – Makino, Garp remembered – tried to wipe her tears away as she walked over to the woman's body before pulling a big sheet over her. She paused before covering the woman's face, looking at her still-healthy-colored cheeks for the last time. Swallowing down a sob, Makino finished her task and put her palms down on the edge of the bed.

Garp watched her in silence as she shook, trying to hold her tears back.  
"She was a good woman," the girl then stated with a shaky voice.  
The only sound in the room were the cries of the newborn child. Garp didn't feel like comforting the baby as the sounds he made almost seemed to be due to losing his mother.

The old marine closed his eyes for a second before opening them again and looking at the bed. "Yes... she really was."

Finally, the young girl let herself go and started to cry along with the infant. Garp only stood and listened to the two, like it was his duty to do so.

He hadn't known Luffy's mother for long – only those few weeks he had been together with her during her last stages of pregnancy – but to say she was a good woman was definitely not a lie. It was truly a sad thing that she was not strong enough to survive the childbirth, especially since Luffy's life was bound to be difficult due to his father's identity. Now, he would have to survive without a mother as well.  
Why Garp had to witness the same tragedy again was a complete mystery to him. He thought that after seeing a young mother die three years ago he would never have to see the same thing happen again. Yet here he was, holding a motherless baby who was unlikely to see his father in a very long time – if ever.

Garp once again looked at the child in his arms, who had quieted down and was now staring up at his grandfather curiously.

"Don't worry kid – I won't let you become a criminal and join this cycle," Garp promised the baby with a faint smile. The baby didn't respond in any way – unable to understand a word he was being told. Then, he let out a yawn and let his big baby eyes close, falling asleep in the strange new world he had arrived in.

* * *

Garp had made sure that no one had followed him to Foosha when he had sneaked off their ship, which was docked in Goa Town, intending to keep the location a complete secret from the other marines. He planned on leaving Luffy in the village until he was old enough to start his training, since it would be impossible for the old marine to grow the boy right under the noses of the people who would have him killed if they knew who he was.

The old marine felt confident about his plan. Luffy would stay safe in the small village – away from anyone who might be able to know his true identity.

He was heading to the village mayor, wanting to know if there was someone who could raise Luffy now that he had lost his mother, when he heard the bundle in his arms give a happy squeal. The sound caused the man to stop and stare at the boy.

Somehow it only now sank into his head that this was his one and only grandson, and so he couldn't resist the urge to gently hold the baby's tiny fist with his big fingers. "You're a cute one, aren't you?" he cooed and felt Luffy grab his index finger inside his small fist while giving squeals of joy.

"Monkey D. Luffy. That's your name, little one. It's a good name. Don't worry, I'll make sure that your name won't be known all over the world like your father's. Dragon might be a criminal, but I'll make sure that you'll become a righteous man – like your grandfather!" he laughed and continued his way towards the village mayor.

* * *

The village mayor was devastated about the news of Luffy's mother's death, but quickly gathered himself enough to think of someone to take care of the infant for now. They talked about a possible woman for a while before Garp asked the mayor to guide him to her house.

The two had just walked outside when Garp noticed the marines. They stood in three straight rows, their commander standing in front of them, clearly waiting for the Vice Admiral to arrive. Once Garp had walked over to them, the commander saluted and the others behind him followed suit.  
The old marine unconsciously pulled the infant in his arms a bit closer to himself as he felt like something bad was about to happen. He saw the way sweat rolled down the commander's forehead and how his entire figure was tense with nervousness.

"Vise Admiral Garp!" he addressed his superior. "I have received information claiming that the baby you are holding is the son of the Revolutionary leader Dragon. We are under the orders of Fleet Admiral Sengoku to confirm this information and bring the child with us if it would prove to be correct," the young marine explained, his hand shaking due to the fear of what Garp might do to him for threatening his grandson.

Garp stood silently in front of his subordinates, gritting his teeth. The idiots had followed him all the way to Foosha and heard him talking about Luffy. He knew that if he didn't make up a lie, Luffy would be taken away and killed. Running away and finding Luffy a new place to hide was no longer an option. The rumor would already have spread and his movements were going to be monitored closely. Luffy wouldn't stand a chance.

 _'Lie,'_ Garp told himself. _'Lie, and Luffy can still stay alive even if it meant that he would carry another name. Lie, and you can save him. Lie, and you can grant him a normal life.'_ Even though Garp told himself those things over and over again, he was unable to open his mouth.

He couldn't do it.

Even if this was a matter of family, Garp couldn't betray the marines. He couldn't look into the eyes of his subordinates and tell them a lie, even if it was to save his grandson's life. Being a marine had long since ceased to be a job and was now a second family to him. He was a marine – through and through – and to ask him to ignore it was impossible.

He would think of something. Luffy might get captured, but he might have still had a chance of staying alive. If he could be raised to be a marine... If he became one of them, he might escape the fate of being used as a negotiation piece or being killed. It was definitely not the freedom Dragon wished for his child, but right now the options were scarce.

Garp closed his eyes before taking a deep breath and letting it out. "Yes. You heard right," he told silently.

The other marines were shocked at the news, but Garp didn't let them talk over him.  
"-But he is also my grandson and so I have the right to raise him. Tell Sengoku that I will be meeting him once I return to the headquarters to discuss this further." Garp's hopes of buying a little time quickly became crushed.

"I'm sorry, Vice Admiral, but we are under direct orders of the Fleet Admiral. The child of Revolutionary Dragon must be captured and brought to the headquarters immediately."

" **Captured**?!" Garp shouted, enraged. His loud voice caused the sleeping infant in his arms to wake and start wailing loudly. Garp was too angry to even notice this as he looked at his men, who had jumped back in fear at the sudden change of their superior's attitude. "Are you unable to see that I'm carrying a newborn child?! He is completely unable to protect himself in any way and you want to _**capture**_ him?! Are you going to put cuffs on him and throw him into a cell?!" the marine shouted at his frightened men.  
"I will bring him to the headquarters myself but until then I demand you to treat him like the baby he is! You should have enough brains to tell that this child is no criminal – no matter what anyone says," the marine finished, finally having calmed himself down. None of his men had anything to say to this and they all looked somewhat guilty for even using the word 'capture'.  
Garp sighed heavily and started rocking the baby in his arms in order to calm him down. "There, there. It's alright," he assured the baby as he turned around to see the village mayor again. "It seems like there has been a change of plans," he told the old man sadly, unable to hide his true feelings. "I will be taking Luffy with me."

The mayor seemed to be bewildered about everything that had just happened and so it took him a moment to collect himself enough to answer. "I see... Are you able to keep him safe?" he almost whispered the last part so only Garp could hear.

The marine considered the words for a moment before shaking his head softly. "I don't know... but I will try my best."

* * *

"Garp," the Fleet Admiral Sengoku began once the said man had sat himself in a chair in his office. "I was going to have you dismissed when I found out you had plotted against the World Government by harboring Roger's son two years ago." The man told calmly as he stared out of the big window before turning and facing the other man. "And now you have gone and done it again! Tell me one good reason I wouldn't have you arrested right now due to conspiracy!?" the man shouted, clearly enraged.

Garp lifted his head and stared at his superior for a while. Then, he laughed loudly and waved his hand. "Now, now, let's not take this so seriously. Let's drink some tea and have some crackers!" the man said and lifted up a bag of crackers he had brought with him.

"You're the one not taking this seriously enough!" Sengoku shouted. He could almost feel himself aging when Garp laughed back at him.  
"Listen here, Sengoku. Those to children are my family now. Their fathers are what they are, but I don't see any reason why they would turn out to be the same!" he told his old friend with a grin.

"You know that the World Government doesn't see it that way. If their fathers are not able to be brought to justice – their sins carry on to their sons." Garp's smile fell a little at those words. "I won't be able to ignore your actions this time."

Garp knew that he wasn't able to get away with what he had done this time. Even if it was a matter of family, Sengoku wasn't going to overlook it. Still, it didn't mean Garp wouldn't try. "Come on, Sengoku," the man whined. "He's just a baby. I could grow him to be a strong marine! I'm sure you know how strong the 'D' bloodline is – he would be more than you ever hoped for. Just let me take him back to Foosha, where he can grow for a few more years before-"

"-No," the Vice Admiral interrupted. "That child will stay in the headquarters. We will send a word to the world that Dragon's son has been captured and if the man wishes to see him again – he would do well to surrender himself."

The last of Garp's smile fell and a frown replaced it. "You know he won't accept that – even if you are threatening him with his son's life."

Sengoku met his cold eyes with Garp's much warmer ones, staring at the man in complete silence for a moment before answering. "So be it." After those words, Sengoku strode back to his desk and sat down, pulling papers from a drawer in front of him. "I'm having you suspended for the time being," he stated and started to fill in the form.

It wasn't like Garp hadn't expected this, but it still felt wrong. "Please wait, let's talk about this-"

"-I'm done talking!" Sengoku shouted and punched his fist down to silence the other. "I have placed much trust on you during all these years but it seems like I was wrong to do so. You betrayed me and everyone else. This time you won't get away with it."

The old marine gritted his teeth and got up from his seat. The two met eyes briefly before the older turned away to leave the room.

"One more thing," Sengoku stopped the other before he could reach the door. "You won't be seeing your grandson during your suspension. That's all."

Garp turned around and stared at his old friend in shock. He wanted to shout at him – tell him that he couldn't do it – but was able to calm his boiling blood before he lashed out. He knew it wouldn't do him any good if he would fight against Sengoku now. He had already got suspended, if he tried anything else he might as well throw his white coat away right then and there. That's why Garp gritted his teeth, swallowed down his anger and feeling of betrayal, and exited the room quietly.

Sengoku looked at the door after the other had left and gave a sigh. "What am I going to do with you?"

* * *

 **So that was the first chapter. It was more like a prologue, I suppose. I know that this little short thing isn't really enough to know if this story will be good or not but I would appreciate any thoughts on it. Please be kind.  
Until next time!**


	2. Chapter 2 - Appear! Red-Haired Shanks

**Thank you so much for all the nice feedback on the first chapter! I'm glad you liked it. There will be a twist in the story in this chapter but I hope you will like it! If there's anything you are confused about, don't hesitate to ask. However, some things are meant to be revealed a bit later on so don't worry!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 2 - Appear! "Red-Hair" Shanks**_

* * *

The seagulls cried loudly and flew about a certain harbor as a big Marine ship was preparing to raise its anchors and leave the safety of the marine base G-14. The sun was shining – though it was unclear how long the fine weather would last with the ever-changing weather the Grand-Line offered. Still, the members of the crew seemed to be in high spirits, knowing that instead of a mission, they were just going to have a safe transporting task. The docks were bustling with life – supplies getting carried inside the ship while some prepared the ship. The only time the working men stopped was when the ship's captain – Vice Admiral Garp appeared, though the man himself wasn't the reason for halting their work. It was because of the small figure that walked beside the big man, holding the old man's hand while looking down at his feet, that the men stopped.  
All of them had heard rumors about the boy's existence but it was the first time any of them saw him. The men started to whisper among themselves and kept staring at the boy as if he was some kind of strange animal as the two walked towards the ship.

The boy kept looking down, his small shoulders looking like they were carrying the weight of the entire world. He tightened his grip on the much stronger hand guiding him and kept walking. The old marine next to him kept looking around the dock, completely ignoring the strange looks the boy was getting.

"It's a fine day to head to the sea!" the man told, clearly feeling happy. The boy didn't answer the marine, but was encouraged enough to take a quick peek at the ship they were heading towards.

It was not before the two had boarded the ship that the rest of the marines had stopped staring and returned to their tasks. But even with the lack of eyes staring into his back, the small boy could not relax. Taking a note of this, the elderly marine let go of the boy's hand. "Come, Luffy. I'll show you something," the man simply told before he started to head towards the bow of the ship. The child wasted no time in following him, clearly not comfortable enough to stay there alone. "Gramps!"

The two of them walked all the way to the figurehead before the boy's grandfather finally stopped. He stared at the horizon ahead that seemed to go on forever. He glanced down at his grandson to see him switching his gaze from him to the ocean. Luffy's tired and emotionless expression changed immediately after he saw the scene. His mouth fell open and his eyes widened slowly – as if not daring to believe what he was seeing – before he took in a big breath as a big, excited grin appeared on his small face.

"Wow!" he breathed, as if he was too afraid to make too much noise. He raised himself on tiptoes to look at the blue waters, but didn't take a single step to move closer to the railing where he could have seen better.

Grinning at the child's actions, Garp lifted him up by the scruff of his shirt before walking to the railing, where Luffy had clearly wanted to go, before setting him down to sit on the edge. He kept a cautious hand next to the child's frame just in case he would get too excited and fall over. And boy, was that a good precaution to take.

Right after Luffy could really see everything, he took in another excited breath as his eyes seemed to almost sparkle as he threw his hands up and shouted, "WOW! What is this?! It's so big!" The sudden movement caused the little boy to lose his balance and if it wasn't for his grandfather's big hand that supported him, Luffy would have been making one grand splash below right about then.

Garp was too pleased to see Luffy's reaction to even bother scolding him for being so careless. Instead, he smiled and kept his hand against the child's back. "That's the sea, Luffy."

"The sea? It's huge!" The boy exclaimed, never turning around. "Does it go on forever?"

Garp grinned at the boy's questions. "Some say it doesn't. However, I have never sailed all the seas so I wouldn't know!" he admitted with a laugh.

Luffy turned around to look at his grandfather. "Someone has sailed all the seas?" he asked in awe.

Garp met his eyes with the much younger and curious ones. "That's what they have claimed," he told and gave another laugh.

Luffy stared at the old marine for a long while, clearly thinking deeply about something. Then, he closed his mouth that was slightly open and turned his gaze back towards the horizon.

Garp couldn't help when his smile kept getting bigger. It had been a very long time since he had seen the boy so excited and happy – since he had seen him be a child like he was. It was too often that the boy was emotionless or sad instead of the child Garp knew his grandson was truly.

Luffy stayed silent as his eyes were fixed ahead, expression slowly melting back into the somber one. Still, Garp could recognize the longing in his eyes.

A seagull flew past the ship, crying out loudly as it seemed to enjoy its freedom. Luffy watched as it flew into his range of view, his mouth once again opening slightly.

"...I wish I could fly away like that," he then whispered. His tone was so heavy and filled with hopelessness that Garp felt his heart break. No five-year-old child should ever have to say things like that. But Luffy was trapped, his freedom ripped away from him before he even had the chance to experience it. Garp knew it all, but he couldn't do anything about it. So he gritted his teeth, all his earlier good mood wiped away once again as the realization hit him hard once more; Luffy would never be free.

* * *

Two days passed and Luffy enjoyed his days at the ship fully. He loved how he was allowed to run around the ship and no one would get angry at him no matter what he did or broke when he got clumsy. And he got to eat with his grandpa every day! Not only was the food yummy, but his grandpa also seemed to be in a good mood. It made Luffy happy as well.

He still needed to see the mean nurses every morning and evening so they would inject him with something and feed him medication. Luffy didn't like it, but at least he didn't have to go through anything painful.

Still, no matter what kind of bad things Luffy would have to go through, he knew that what he got to see every single day made it all better. The sea around them was so big and amazing that he almost couldn't believe it. Not only was it big and tasted salty (he had secretly stretched his hand to scoop up some water for a test taste) but there were also so many things that lived in it!  
He had seen big school of small fish right next to the ship and then some really big fish. There had been one really, really big fish too, one day. It was very long – at least twice the ship's length, Luffy estimated – and it was brightly colored. His grandpa had called it a 'sea-king', but Luffy didn't really understand it well.

" _There are kings in the sea?"_ he had asked his grandpa.

" _Yes, the sea-kings are so big and powerful that they rule underneath the sea,"_ his grandpa had explained.

" _But... I thought that the sea didn't belong to anyone?"_ Luffy had asked, his voice telling about how disappointed he was feeling.

His grandpa grinned, _"you're right, it doesn't! But that's why it belongs to everyone and everything!"_

Honestly, Luffy had just become more confused about his grandpa's explanation. How could something belong to no one and belong to everyone at the same time? It made no sense.

Maybe it really was like those old marines sometimes said; his grandpa was a bit strange in the head.

Confident with his thought process, Luffy once again made his way to the bow of the ship like he did every day. He didn't know many people on the ship, so he didn't feel like greeting any of them as he walked across the deck. None of them gave Luffy any attention, so he didn't give them any.

He walked up the stairs and to the railing. He would have desperately wanted to sit on it but after almost falling in the day before, he was strictly banned from climbing anywhere where he could fall off the ship. Luffy pushed his lips in annoyance as he had to just settle with peeking over the tall railing with a little help of his rubber-powers. He stretched his legs and felt an annoying pain run through his stretching parts. The pain kept growing stronger the longer Luffy kept stretching his body, but he didn't want to leave his spot yet. He could handle this much. After all, he got to look at the sea again!

Suddenly, something appeared in the horizon that hadn't been there before. Luffy was surprised to see anything disturb his perfectly clear view and so he tried to squint his eyes to see what the small spot was.

Just as he was about to give up and go ask his grandpa, he heard a shout from the crow's nest. " **An unknown vessel 12 o'clock!** "

Luffy was surprised when at least ten marines ran right next to him to look at the small spot too. One of them had a long metal pole (which Luffy had yet not learned to be called a 'telescope') that he peeked into.

" **It has a black flag! It's pirates!** " the man with the pole suddenly shouted so loudly that Luffy got startled and fell on his butt. He knew that the men needed to shout information loudly so everyone could hear but still! They were so loud!

Heavy footsteps approached them and Luffy turned to see his grandpa. He had his usual grin on his face and his figure was powerful. Feeling a childish surge, Luffy got up and ran to his only family before clutching onto his leg tightly.  
Garp rested a comforting hand on his head, his gaze never tearing from the object far away on the sea.

"What should we do, Vice Admiral Garp?" one of the soldiers asked.

Garp seemed to think about it for a while before looking down to his grandson who had hidden his face into the white fabric of his pants. "Luffy," he began, making the child look up to his face. "you remember what I told you about pirates, don't you?"

Luffy looked surprised at the question, but nodded. "They are bad people," he answered simply and with certainty.  
"Yes. They are bad people. And you remember what I told you about my job?" Garp asked, earning another nod from the child.  
"You told me you catch bad people."

"That's right. Now, Luffy," he said and moved the boy so he could get on one knee. "Tell me – are you afraid of pirates?"

Luffy pushed his lips and thought about an answer. "I don't know. I... guess? You told me they are bad people. Are they scary too?" he asked innocently.

"They can be very scary. But that's why I have to catch them so they won't scare anyone anymore."

Luffy looked at his grandpa before looking at the pirate ship again. "You're going to catch them too?"

Just as Garp was about to answer, a soldier informed, "It's the Red Hair Pirates!"

The name meant nothing to Luffy, but it made his grandpa grin even wider than before.  
"That kid, ey?" he said to no one in particular before he looked back to at his grandson. "Yes, Luffy. We're going to catch those pirates. It might be a bit scary for a while, but you can handle it, right?"

Luffy seemed to be happy with his grandfather's answer and so he nodded. "Yeah! Catch those bad pirates, gramps!"

Garp laughed before he got up again. "Men! Prepare for battle!" he ordered.  
The marines began to run around, everyone going to do their jobs as Garp stood at the bow with confidence.

Luffy felt his tiny heart beat both in fear and excitement. He wasn't sure what to expect, but he knew it involved guns and cannons. He wondered if his grandpa would let him try to shoot a pistol too, but quickly dismissed the thought as he knew he would just get a hard hit on his head for asking something like that.

Still, it was really exciting – he got to see a real battle!

...At least that's what he thought until the next moment.

"You!" Garp suddenly shouted to a nearby marine. "Take Luffy below deck and make sure he stays there! It's too dangerous for him up here."

"No! Gramps!" Luffy shouted in defiance. He really, really wanted to see! However, his grandpa was having none of it.

"You will be safer there, Luffy! You might get hurt here or worse! Just listen to my order this once."

Luffy was lifted from the ground before he could say another word.

He gritted his teeth in anger as he watched his grandpa disappear from his view as the marine holding him was starting to descend the stairs. "IDIOT GRAMPS!" he shouted once more in anger before he could no longer see the old man.

...If only he had known that he wasn't going to see his grandpa in a very, very long time after that, he might have chosen his words differently.

* * *

Luffy could feel how the ship rocked when the battle went on.

The cannons not only made a huge noise but also made the floor and walls tremor in a strange way.  
Luffy decided that he had been wrong about the pirates. He was _definitely_ scared of them. He had heard their shouts when they had got on the their ship and it had scared Luffy so much that he had taken his blanket and crept underneath his bed to hide. It made him feel the tremors of the cannons more, but he felt slightly safer there. Hidden, small... unnoticeable.

Suddenly, there was a violent jolt and a sound bigger than any cannon. The whole room shifted into a strange angle and Luffy found himself sliding away from under the bed to the middle of the floor before the room went back to normal.

"W-what was that?!" he shouted to himself and stood up even though his knees shook violently. He clutched his blanket tightly, trying to gain comfort from it, as he slowly crept closer to the door. He could hear men shouting loudly – some in pain – and he found himself holding his blanket tighter.  
The ship then once again rocked violently and Luffy was thrown back on his bottom. Before he had time to even wonder what had happened, he felt something wet under him. He looked down to see water everywhere and raised his gaze up slightly to see how the water was coming in from under his door.

Luffy jumped to his feet instantly. He knew he needed to get out of there or he would drown! Running to the door – which was a bit difficult since the ship was in such angle – Luffy stretched his arm out to open the door. It burst open, sending much more water in than the poor boy had imagined, sending him flying back inside the room.  
It took him a while to gather himself since the water had made him feel weak, but he managed to do it with some struggling. Then, he threw his hand out towards the door-frame before grabbing it and letting his body snap towards it.

Luffy was glad that he had managed to escaped his room, but he knew that he wasn't out of danger yet. There was water everywhere and he knew that if it got up to his ankles, he would fall into a boneless heap to the floor. Deciding that he wasn't going to die in such stupid way, Luffy gathered his courage before reaching up to the ceiling boards where he could monkey his way outside instead of risking his feet getting wet.

As Luffy got closer to the door leading on the deck, he could hear the shouts getting louder. He couldn't deny that he was feeling scared about going up there, but he felt like there wasn't really other options. Maybe he could hide on the deck somewhere? There were some big barrels gathered in one corner, maybe he could hide himself behind them?

Before Luffy could think another thought the ship lurched once again, making him lose his grip and fall. Fortunately, he didn't fall on the floor, but on the stairs leading outside. He quickly thanked his luck before pushing himself up.  
He was surprised to find that even the steps were wet even though the water came from under the ship. He then noticed something different about the liquid. It wasn't water. This was something much thicker and much more sticky. Luffy lifted his hand up to examine what he had fallen into and was startled to notice that he was soaked in something dark and red.  
"W-what is this?" he asked to himself as he looked himself over. He then registered the strong smell the liquid had. Yes, the strong metallic stench... Luffy suddenly knew what it was.

"No way... This is all... blood?" he whispered as his body started to shake. He looked at the steps once again and saw how the liquid traveled down them like a river. He then lifted his gaze towards the slightly open door and saw that it was where all the blood was coming from. Someone was lying on the deck right before the door.

Luffy felt scared. Really, really scared.  
But when he once again remembered the water closing in on him, Luffy forced his legs to move. He felt disgusted when he felt the how sticky the blood was becoming on him, but tried to focus on his task; go outside, find grandpa.

Luffy finally reached the doorway and saw a scene he could never forget.  
The man lying in front of the door wasn't moving and he was covered in blood. Luffy could recognize the uniform he wore, however. It was a marine soldier. There was a deep, long wound on his back, clearly done by a sword. The wound was no longer bleeding.

Luffy felt like he couldn't breathe when he slowly raised his gaze up to see the deck more. There was so much blood.  
Men were lying on the floor, lifeless, as some were still struggling against the unfamiliar men invading the ship.

Luffy couldn't move. He could only stare ahead.  
He saw a marine fighting against one pirate with a sword and black cape. Unfortunately, the marine stood no chance against the pirate and he was quickly cut down. His blood sprayed as he fell on the floor with a pained shout.

That was when Luffy's knees gave out. He couldn't even breathe anymore.  
But then the worst thing happened. The pirate turned to look at him. His stern eyes suddenly widened as his mouth fell open in shock. "A child!?" he shouted.

Luffy was sure that he was going to get killed by this man. His heart was beating so strongly against his rib cage that he wondered if it would pop out.

However, neither of them had time to do anything as another pirate ran behind the black-caped one. "Captain!" he began. "This ship is going under, we need to get out of here!"

The man, apparently the pirate captain, asked, "did you get him out?" Once he got a confirmation from his crew member, he nodded. "I understand, tell everyone to retreat."

Luffy didn't have time to see the other pirate turn away as the ship once again lurched, sending the boy flying against the dead marine at the doorway.

The movement caused his trance to break and his survival instincts to kick in. He ignored the blood that he had fallen into and stood up quickly before running away from the pirate. He had time to meet the pirate's gaze and was surprised to see him looking at him with startled and worried eyes. He was a pirate, right? Why would he look at him like that? And he had just killed so many marines! Why were his eyes so kind?

Luffy didn't understand it, but he didn't want to. He wanted to find his grandpa.

Unfortunately, luck wasn't on his side this time. The ship suddenly made the most violent lurch by far, almost turning the ship completely sideways. Luffy had no chance of staying upright and so he started falling. He could only scream as he flew past the pirate captain, right over the railing.

He had barely enough time to register he had fallen overboard when he already hit the cool water and instantly knew that he hadn't taken a deep breath before falling in.

Due to his long fall, Luffy kept sinking quickly. His strength was immediately robbed from him and he couldn't even try to save himself. He felt how his lungs were starting to scream for air already and he knew he couldn't hold on for long.  
He opened his eyes to look at the surface, wishing that he would see his grandpa diving to rescue him. However, only pieces of wood from their ship floated there.

 _'I don't want this...! Gramps... help!'_ he silently wished. However, he could feel how his head was starting to hurt really bad and see how his vision was blurring. His limbs felt so heavy and useless.

He squeezed his eyes tightly shut in pain before he finally had to let go.

He felt water rushing into his lungs and he felt pained and sick.  
Then, his head started to feel strangely light. He couldn't think straight anymore. He opened his eyes and stared at his limp arms in front of him, they looking alien in the pale lighting.  
Then, in the middle of those useless limbs, he saw the water being disturbed as a dark figure slowly seemed to sink after him.  
No, it wasn't sinking. It was someone swimming towards him.  
 _'Gramps?'_ Luffy wondered before his vision went completely dark and he passed out.

* * *

The next time Luffy woke up, he was in an unfamiliar place.

His head throbbed as he slowly opened his eyes to look at the room and quickly decided that he wasn't on his grandpa's ship. Still, Luffy recognized the faint sway. He was definitely on a ship.

He pushed himself up on the bed -taking a note on how warm the blanket he had been sleeping under felt - and looked around.

The room was quite big. There were big windows on one wall, though it was too dark to see anything out of them, and a wooden desk placed almost in the middle of the room. Someone had lit candles to light the room in a gentle glow, making Luffy feel calm and comfortable.

He was just about to scan the rest of the room when a voice interrupted him.

"Did you sleep well?"

Luffy almost jumped when he heard the unfamiliar voice. He quickly spun around to see the pirate from before sitting on a chair, leaning his elbow on a table next to him.

All the calmness Luffy had felt was instantly wiped away and he went rigid in fear. He saw quick flashbacks from what had happened on his grandpa's ship and he felt himself unable to breathe once again.  
He had been captured by pirates.  
"Y-you are that pirate from before!" Luffy stuttered, his eyes wide and scared.  
However, the red-haired man only smiled softly, in a comforting manner almost. He then waved his hand slowly. "Now, now. No need to get yourself worked up. I'm not going to hurt you."

"B-but you killed all those marines...!" Luffy said fearfully.

The smile on the man's face lessened. "Yes, I did. But it was because they had taken one of our friends."

Luffy pushed his lips and clutched the blanket on his lap tightly, wondering if he should speak.

"What's your name, kid?" the pirate then asked.

Luffy lifted his gaze to meet those dark and kind-looking eyes once again and somehow didn't feel so scared anymore."Luffy," he answered.

The pirate smiled even wider. "Luffy, huh? My name is Shanks."

Luffy stared at the man, somehow finding it hard to believe his was the same man he had seen hurting that marine. "Shanks..." Luffy tried out the name, making the said man smile softly.

There was a short silence before Shanks took a sip of his drink he held in his other hand. Then, he locked his eyes with Luffy's again. "Tell me, Luffy, what were you doing on that marine ship?"

Staring into the pirate's eyes, Luffy found himself unable to lie. "It's my grandpa's ship. He wanted to take me outside to see the sea."

"Outside..?" Shanks wondered before he focused on something else. "Your grandpa's ship? Luffy... are you saying that your grandfather is Monkey D. Garp?"

Luffy's eyes went wide. "You know my gramps?!"

Shanks ran his hand through his red hair, his face twisted into a look of discomfort. "I've met him a few times."

Luffy seemed happy about the news before all his positiveness seemed to fade away. A sorrowful look replaced his faint smile. "But the ship sank, didn't it? Did gramps sink too?" he asked softly.

Shanks opened his mouth to answer before closing it again. He wasn't really sure what to say. He wasn't really good with children and was uncertain if he should lie.  
He knew it was highly unlikely that anyone on the marine ship survived the battle, let alone swam for long enough for a rescue ship to arrive. Still, looking at Luffy's sorrowful eyes, Shanks was unable to tell him the hard truth.

"Don't worry!" he said instead and gave a big grin. "Your grandfather is really strong! He wouldn't die because of something like that, right?" Shanks felt a bit weird talking about a marine in such manner, but when he was rewarded with Luffy's happy smile, he was glad of every word he had said.

"Yeah! Grandpa is really strong!" Luffy exclaimed before seeming to remember who he was talking to and sinking back into the bed a bit.

Shanks was satisfied when he noticed that Luffy was much more relaxed than when he had opened his eyes, although he still remained cautious.

The man rose from his seat. "Now, how about I get you something to eat? You must be hungry," he offered. Luffy seemed to consider it for a moment before giving a small smile and a nod.

"Good, now wait here and I'll be back soon," Shanks said and left the room.  
From the crack of the door, Luffy could faintly see the deck of the unfamiliar ship and felt himself growing curious. What did the pirate ship look like up close? And they had a black flag with a jolly roger on it, right? What kind of flag did these pirates have?

Though Luffy wanted to go on an adventure very badly, his fear of the unfamiliar men kept him from moving.

He thought about his grandpa for a while, hoping that he was okay, before he thought how he had been about to drown. He could still remember how he sank deeper and deeper and when he was just about to lose consciousness, he saw someone swimming towards him. Who had it been? Could it have been Shanks?

Luffy wondered again why the pirate was so nice to him. He cheered him up and even offered him food. He hadn't even tried to hurt Luffy, not even once!

Still, he couldn't ignore his memory of Shanks hurting the marine on his gramps' ship. The man had said that it was because the marines had their friend, but Luffy felt like it was still a horrible thing to do.

But when Shanks returned with a tray of food and a wide smile, Luffy couldn't help but to think there was more to pirates than what his grandpa had told.

* * *

"So, Luffy," Shanks started the next day when he and the child sat outside on the deck, Luffy sitting comfortably on the wide railing next to him. "-you said you were traveling with your grandfather but what about your parents?"

Luffy munched on an apple as he stared at the clear waters. "Gramps said that my mom died when I was a baby and that my dad is a bad man. I have never met him though," the child answered without care, obviously not too interested about the subject.  
"So you live with your grandfather?"

Luffy shook his head. "No, I live in a pretty weird place. Gramps comes to see me whenever he can."

Shanks frowned. "A weird place?"

"Yup," Luffy nodded before his small smile was gone again. "I don't like that place. They do these weird... ex-experiments," Luffy carefully pronounced the word before continuing, "on me. It really hurts sometimes," he admitted sadly and ran his hand over his arm.

Shanks' frown deepened. This child was a test subject? What in the world did the marines want with a small child like Luffy? "Why do they do those test on you, Luffy?" Shanks asked carefully and never looked away from the boy's arm where he saw the small scars.

Luffy pushed his lips together. "I don't really know. They said it was because they needed to see how my powers worked but I don't know anymore..." he said and sighed sadly.

"Your powers?" Shanks asked.

"Yeah. They told me to eat a fruit one day and then my body became weird. They said it was a Devil Fruit."

"They fed you a Devil Fruit?!" Shanks almost shouted. He was shocked. Forcing someone – a child – to eat the fruit and change their life was so very wrong. It made Shanks feel sick.

"Yeah. The Gomu Gomu no Mi. I'm made of rubber because of that, see?" he said before stretching his cheek to an inhuman length.

Shanks could only stare at the sight with his mouth wide open. Luffy let his skin snap back to its original place before rubbing the spot, as if it hurt.

"What's wrong?" Shanks asked the child.

"It just hurts a bit every time I stretch. They gave me some weird medicine so that it became like that."

Hearing that, Shanks knew that Luffy could not be returned to the marines. If this was the 'justice' they seemed to love so much, then that justice had never been more wrong. Hurting an innocent child like this was so wrong and cruel.

"Hey, Shanks?" Luffy then started, causing the man to look up to him. The child seemed a bit nervous about asking the pirate, but was thankfully brave enough to do so. "Why are you a pirate?"

Shanks was taken back by the question at first, but then he thought about it. "Let's see... It's fun, for one."

Luffy frowned. "It's fun to hurt people?"

"No, it's not like that," Shanks laughed. "And there's much more to being a pirate than just hurting and robbing people."

The child cocked his head. "What's that?"  
"To choose our way of living," Shanks told with a powerful, confident voice. "We are free men. We sail these seas and go on adventures and there is no one to tell us otherwise."

Luffy's eyes widened and Shanks could see a new emotion emerging from inside of them that he hadn't yet seen from the boy.

"Freedom," the boy stated silently, clearly in admiration and desire.

Shanks nodded. "Exactly. All of these men are free," he said and moved his hand to indicate his men on the ship, all more or less busy with something.

Luffy watched them all, how they laughed and joked happily like they had no worries in the world. Like... they could do anything they wanted, _go anywhere_ they wanted. And Luffy realized; they could. Just like those birds he watched every day from his tiny window of his room that felt like a cell – they could.  
"I..." Luffy started, making Shanks look at the boy. Luffy stared at all the happy faces on the ship and gulped down his words at first as if they were a bad thing to even think about. Shanks patiently waited until the child had finally gathered enough courage to say the words he had probably wanted to say for a long time now. "-I want to be free too...! Like Shanks; like pirates! I don't want to go back to that small room anymore... I want to sail the seas too!" he bravely said. His voice still sounded pleading, as if he was afraid, but Shanks could already see the kind of child Luffy was truly meant to be.  
A child of sea.

Shanks put a hand on his trademark straw-hat and smiled. "Is that so..." he then stood up, startling Luffy a bit, before grinning at the boy. "Then, Luffy..."

Like Shanks would forever remember Luffy's plead of freedom, Luffy would always remember Shanks' next words:

"How about you become a pirate?"

* * *

"Men! Gather around!" Shanks shouted loudly that evening as they were preparing for their almost daily banquet on the deck (which more than a few men thought to be a bit too often).  
The crew gathered around their captain, who was now standing on a crate for him to be seen better. The red-haired pirate wore a satisfied grin as he held his hands on his waist. "Listen up! I have an announcement to make," he started. He then leaned down before grabbing something and pulling the thing up – making whatever it was _yelp –_ before lifting it up for all of the men to see. "This here is Luffy!" Shanks told, his grin still present on his face even as the boy, who he was holding up by his shirt, was struggling wildly against his grip. "He's going to stay with us for a while! Be nice to him!" the man told and laughed.

It took the crew a moment to react. After all, the boy in front of them was just a kid! Living with pirates wasn't really safe for a child like him. Then again... it was pretty darn fun.

"Yeah!" some men cheered in unison and joined Shanks' laughter.

The first-mate, Benn Beckman, sighed at his captain's sudden decision before chuckling to himself. He could always count on Shanks to come up with new ways to surprise his crew.

Shanks finally let the struggling Luffy go and watched as the boy crossed his arms and pouted. Watching the kid, the pirate captain seemed to remember something as he quickly raised his hand and turned back to his crew.

"I forgot to mention this, but make sure you are on your best behavior! You see, Luffy here is going to be looking up to all of you from now on, because he has told me that he will be a pirate one day. Isn't that right, Luffy?" Shanks told before turning to look at the child again.  
Luffy's bad mood was quickly washed away by the sudden silence that fell at Shanks' words. He looked at the crowd of pirates that stared at him expectantly and understood that they were waiting for _him_ to speak. Suddenly feeling really shy and a bit scared, Luffy took a step back, his shoulders rising high as he tensed. He then looked up to Shanks for support. The man was smiling kindly at Luffy, telling him that it was alright.

Feeling a bit better, Luffy looked back at the men. He was going to say his dream. It was different from wishing it inside his head or telling it to Shanks. When he told it to these people, there was no going back. He would admit of wanting to be free, which he was never allowed before. But there were no marines there. There were only pirates here; free men. No one would tell him not to wish anymore.  
Luffy swallowed once and opened his mouth. He felt himself trembling but he steeled himself. He let his strong will guide him and so he was able to speak. "I...I want to be free. I want to sail the sea without anyone telling me not to. I want to be a pirate!" Luffy shouted the last part, the words rising from deep inside his small body, full of meaning and strength.

Shanks smirked at the boy's guts as the crew broke into loud cheers, everyone accepting the small kid as one of their own. After all, Luffy already had the most important feature a pirate needed; a strong will and a heart yearning for freedom.

* * *

 **Shanks is here! Awesome!**

 **I hope you liked this chapter as much as I liked writing it. Please leave me a review if you did! It would make my day!**

 _ **Extra note: I want to remind you that Shanks is no saint (like Benn says in the original story). He is a pirate and like we have seen before, he kills people. Though Shanks and his crew are all seemingly good people and don't like meaningless bloodshed, I won't be trying to hide the fact that they would still kill or injure others in order to continue to live the way they want to.**_


	3. Chapter 3 - The price of freedom

**I don't know why this chapter was such a struggle for me. I hope it turned out okay.**

 **Also, my finals are coming up so I will be studying for those for the next 6 weeks. I don't know how much this will affect my writing and I apologize in advance if the updates won't stay weekly.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 3 - The price of freedom_**

* * *

Luffy's first days at the Red-haired pirate's ship had been full of amazement and joy. The boy, who had been a prisoner his entire life, had a lot to see and learn even while sailing through the sea without any land in sight. The pirates were more than happy to help him just so they could see Luffy's eyes start to sparkle at the simplest of things.

Unfortunately, on the evening of his third day of his free life, Luffy received a horrible reminder of his former life. No one had had time to notice Luffy's quickly deteriorating health before the boy hadn't been able to stay standing and had suddenly collapsed. The boy had kept holding his chest and been in obvious pain as he had been carried to the small infirmary, though no one could see any injuries on the boy's body. It had only taken a few hours until a high fever had risen and Luffy's condition took a turn for the worse.

It had taken too long for Shanks' liking for their doctor to figure out the reason for Luffy's sudden illness. It turned out that the small boy was suffering from no illness at all – but from extreme withdrawal symptoms. It was unclear to the doctor exactly what kind of medicine the boy had been forced to take up until then, and how Luffy's body could handle the lack of them. The only reassurance the doctor could offer was that Luffy was a healthy child and that whatever medication he had been fed – he didn't need. However, there was nothing else the man could do. He couldn't even give the boy any more medication in fear of causing an even worse reaction. The only thing he could do was tell that, "he'll be fine if he can survive the withdrawal symptoms." It was close to no help at all, but it was all that they were going to get.

Time was the only thing that could heal Luffy.

Shanks had stayed by the boy's bedside for the first night and almost the entire day that followed before he was joined by his first-mate.

Benn had knocked politely before entering the dark room to find his captain sitting sideways on a chair, partly leaning against the wall. His elbow was resting against the small table next to him so he could lean against his hand. An unlit cigarette hung from his lips as his eyes were tightly fixed on the small figure in his bed.

Benn knew that his captain had noticed his presence so he didn't start the conversation between them. He knew that even without talking, his captain would know what he wanted to ask.

"I have never liked the marines," Shanks finally began, his tired yet empty expression never changing. "-But that has always been because we are enemies by nature. I have never really had any reason to hate them as an organization. I can understand what they are trying to accomplish. At least I thought so," he told before his eyes hardened. "But I see no good reason for them to capture a small child like Luffy and torture him like they did," he told with a low voice. "No matter what, there is nothing that can justify that."

Benn could sense the rage inside of his captain without having to look at him. Though the man acted calm, there was a beast inside of him waiting for the moment to lash out.

"No, I doubt there is," the first-mate answered and turned his head towards the small figure laying on the bed. The boy's expression was pained though he was asleep and his breaths were short and labored. It was clear that his suffering hadn't eased yet.

"Luffy is strong," Shanks suddenly told, "he will be fine. He'll beat this."

Benn was surprised to hear the man's voice waver ever so slightly. It didn't take long for Benn to realize that the strong pirate was only trying to reassure himself. It was a rare thing, but the red-haired captain was feeling scared.

It was unclear to the first-mate when the boy had been able to form such a bond with Shanks when the boy had only been on their ship for a few days. True, the boy's innocent wish and his difficult past were able to melt even the coldest heart, but Benn could not see anything more to him. Still, the first-mate knew the power that came with wanting to protect someone and he was not against seeing this new side of his captain. "Yes, I'm sure he will," Benn answered to give some support to his captain.

"This kid..." Shanks spoke again but seemed unsure how to continue. "He... I want to protect his dream. I want him to get his freedom."

Benn felt like it was the right moment to pry, "any special reason?"

There was a small smile on Shanks face when he answered, "my life has always been much more simple. I have had my freedom from the day I was born. I became a pirate out of my free will, not because I had no other choice. I don't know if it's because he's a kid but... I want him to know what freedom is like," the man told before silently adding, "maybe it's just for my own selfish reason of wanting to do something for him."

Benn studied the man for a moment before giving a simple answer. "I see."

The two of them stayed silent for a moment, listening to the only sound in the room; Luffy's labored breaths. Benn was the one to break that silence this time.

"So you think that he can get his freedom only by becoming a pirate?"

Shanks lowered his head at the question. "No," he then answered sincerely. "I thought about it before but... this life isn't for a kid. If he wants to fight for his freedom one day like us then he can become a pirate, but until then his place isn't here. It's too dangerous."

Benn was surprised by the calm and rational answer. "Then..?"

Shanks shook his head wildly and held it in his hands as he let out a frustrated groan. "I don't know! I thought I was going to let him stay here until we found a good place for him to stay, but I don't feel like doing that anymore!"

Benn's eyes went wide at his captain's sudden outburst and was unable to say anything. Shanks turned to look at his first-mate in the eye in desperation. "I mean – he has been so happy with us! And I want to teach him many things still! And he really loves the sea a lot and-"

Benn sighed and put up a hand to stop the red-haired man's rambling. "Captain," he started and waited until he had the man's attention. "I understand that you don't want to give him up, but like you said, he is only a child." Benn looked at the unconscious child again and his eyes softened. "Is it really a life he should be living?"

Shanks reacted like a child that had been scolded. His shoulders dropped, just like his head and he pushed his lips together. His hands fell to his lap, and overall he looked quite defeated.

"I know. I'll... let him go. Once we find a good place for him to live, I will."

Benn couldn't help but feeling a bit bad for his captain. Sometimes, emotions took control of the red-haired man, and it was his duty to help him make the right decisions during those times. It wasn't an easy duty, but a necessary one.

The dark-haired man sighed and tried to give an encouraging smile. "The kid will probably want to be a pirate once he grows up, no matter what his life is like until then. He looks up to you after all. He'll be following you everywhere again in no time."

The words seemed to slightly cheer up the captain. A smile, though a bit sad, spread on the man's face again. "Yeah... he'll be a great pirate one day."

* * *

Luffy kept suffering from his high fever for days. Shanks had taken it as his duty to watch the boy's torment, no matter how painful it was. The most difficult moments were when Luffy was awake, delirious with fever. It was one of those moments that Shanks was staying by his side again, trying to hold the boy down as he fought against him – not even knowing who the man was.

"No, no, no! I can't be thrown out! I don't have my bird wings!" the boy screamed as he struggled against Shanks' grip.

"Luffy, it's alright. No one is throwing you anywhere," Shanks tried to calm the feverish boy and set him back on the bed, from where Luffy seemed to want to escape.

"You – you can't! It hurts!" the boy kept screaming.

Shanks knew that the boy wasn't really even conscious but he still kept talking to him in a calming tone. "I'm sure it does, Luffy. You just need to be strong, okay? You will get better soon."

Luffy's teary and confused eyes met with Shanks' kind ones before his strength ran out and he stopped struggling. The pirate captain rested the now-limp small hands down on Luffy's lap before he laid the boy back down. The child stared at the red-haired pirate with glassy eyes, mumbling, "strong..." After that, he closed his eyes and fell asleep once more.

Shanks sighed and ran a hand through his hair, sitting back on his chair.  
"How did I end up becoming a nurse?" he wondered for a moment. But looking at Luffy's sleeping figure again, he knew the answer.

"It looks like I might be quite selfish after all," he told to the silent room.

"Shanks..." Luffy then muttered sleepily, his eyes still tightly closed as he slept on.

The said man smiled and put a hand on Luffy's forehead. "Don't worry. I'm not throwing you anywhere."

* * *

It had taken several painfully long days, but Luffy had finally recovered enough to walk around the ship again.

The boy had been bewildered to see how everyone at the ship greeted him when he walked by, saying nice things like: "Good to see you up again!" and "Hi Luffy, are you feeling okay now?" He would then smile and answer them all with enthusiasm, feeling immensely happy about being the center of attention.

The crew was relieved to see how the child had recovered, but even more so when they saw how good their captain was looking again as he walked behind the kid. The man wasn't looking tired any longer and his shoulders had finally relaxed, just like his expression had. All the earlier anger that they had seen was gone and replaced by a tranquil look, a calm smile resting on his face constantly.

When Luffy ran up the stairs and tripped, it was Shanks who lifted him back to his feet. When the crew saw how Luffy thanked their captain and ran on ahead of the man, they couldn't help but to see a father and son there.

"Shanks, look!" Luffy shouted once he had reached the bow of the ship and looked over the railing.

Shanks slowly made his way behind the boy. "What is it?" he asked and followed his gaze to where Luffy was pointing. Unfortunately, he could only see the calm sea and a few birds. "I can't see what you mean."

"The birds!" Luffy shouted as he watched the white seagulls gliding over the surface of water, waiting for the right time to dive in and catch their prey. "Aren't they cool? They can go anywhere. They can just fly away any time they want!" he exclaimed.

Shanks smiled at the boy's enthusiasm for something so simple. "But Luffy, don't you remember?" he asked and waited until the child met his gaze. He looked confused before Shanks explained, "you are free now too. You can go anywhere, just like those birds."

Luffy's eyes widened as he realized Shanks' words. "Oh yeah!" he said and turned back to look at the birds. Then, he lifted his hand and waved at them. " **I don't need wings after all! I'm free now too!** " Luffy shouted loudly at the birds as he wore the biggest smile Shanks had ever seen on the boy's face.

The pirate captain smiled at Luffy's words and knew that everyone on the ship had heard them as well. He heard someone sniffling behind him and looked over his shoulder to see Yasopp wiping his tears away. It was no wonder, Shanks thought. Luffy had gone through some horrible things up until then and knowing that, his innocent words resounded even stronger inside of them.

Shanks saw how a shadow passed the ship under the water and watched how the birds gathered into one spot. He quickly understood what was going on and so he placed a hand on Luffy's shoulder. "Look closely, Luffy," he told the child, making him lean closer to the railing in curiosity.

Soon, even Luffy could see the several shadows that swam underneath the surface. It only took a moment before the surface of the water was broken and a big whale jumped up. It was followed by two other whales, all spraying water high in the air.  
"Wow!" Luffy shouted as he watched the scene. His eyes glimmered with childish glee and excitement, just like they should have.

Shanks rested his arms on the railing and leaned into them, enjoying the moment of peace. The sun was shining, Luffy was healthy and happy again... nothing could have been better.

Or maybe if he had a bottle of rum...?

* * *

In order to celebrate Luffy's recovery, the crew arranged a surprise party that evening. Unlike usual, the ship was lit with several paper lamps that were tied onto ropes and tied to the masts on both ends of the ship, creating a nice glow on the deck. Oil lamps were lit wherever they could be put, and blankets and carpets were laid on the floor, not only to become a more comfortable place to sit on, but to make the wooden deck more colorful. To top things off, the captain's spot got a pile of pillows (though no one admitted they were actually for the little kid that hung onto the red-haired man like a baby chimp), and a grill was wheeled outside as well as a table that was slowly starting to fill with food.  
The men had never gone through so much trouble to have a party on the ship but once they saw the look on Luffy's face as he came to the deck, they regretted nothing. The boy's eyes opened wide, just like his mouth, before his eyes started to glimmer with excitement. "Wow! It's so pretty!" he exclaimed, and seemed to barely be able to contain his feelings. It was clear by the way his little body shook that he wanted to just run around and look at everything, but instead the boy held onto the dark pant leg of the man he stood next to. The red-haired man looked quite impressed himself, whistling in approval as he looked around the deck. He didn't pay attention Luffy's reaction, but instead just grinned at his crew mates, who were waiting for their captain's command. "Men!" he started, getting everyone's attention, "let's party!"

The men let out a strong, agreeing shout loud enough to cause Luffy to jump.  
The next moment, the deck was bustling. A group had clearly taken it as their duty to make the food, where as one group had an idea how to play some instruments. Some were getting drinks and some were already having a blast, choosing a place to sit at and laughing and joking loudly.

Luffy looked at the lively deck for a moment, his feet stuck in their place. Shanks looked down and saw this, smiled and grabbed the boy underneath his arm. "Come on, anchor! It's your party!"  
The boy tried to wiggle out of the man's grasp. "Anchor? My name isn't anchor! It's Luffy!" the boy told in annoyance, completely having forgotten his earlier nervousness as the two made their way among the other pirates.

Shanks laughed at the child. "You sink like one so you're Anchor!" the man laughed again before continuing, "well, think of it as a nickname!"

The boy looked up at the red-haired man in confusion. "A nickname?"

Before he could answer, the other pirates guided the captain to his spot (that had thoughtfully been placed so that all the other men would remain in front of them, making it a bit more calm place) and the man threw Luffy to the big pile of pillows. The boy easily disappeared in the soft pile with a soft "poof". The red-haired man sat down and waited for the boy to climb his way out while getting served his first drink of the evening. When Luffy's head became visible again, the boy was giggling uncontrollably. "Look, Shanks! It's a castle!" the boy told excitedly and held one pillow high above his head to show it.

The red-haired man looked at the boy for a moment before being unable to contain his laughter. "Your castle is a bit brittle, Anchor!" the man teased.

Luffy glared at the man and puffed his cheeks. "You're just jealous you're not as small as me!" the boy told before seemingly remembering something. "-and don't call me 'Anchor!' my name is Luffy!"

The captain stopped laughing and smiled at the boy. "I told you – it's a nickname I gave you."

The boy's angry look was gone in a second and was replaced by confusion. "What's that?"

Shanks looked surprised by the boy's question. "You don't know what a "nickname" is?"

The boy shook his head.  
Shanks placed a hand underneath his chin and thought about an answer. "Well... a nickname is something you receive from your friends. It's just a form of affection," Shanks explained.

Luffy's eyes widened. His mouth opened once before closing. He repeated the same action a few times as Shanks kept an eye on him, waiting patiently for him to say something.  
Finally, what came out of Luffy's mouth was, "...friends?"

Shanks smirked at the quiet word. "That's right, we're friends. "Nakama", as we like to call it here," the man told the boy and watched his reaction.

Luffy's eyes suddenly looked like they didn't know where to look, and he started to fumble with the hem of his shirt, his mouth opening and closing rapidly. Then, his feelings took the best of him and he disappeared into his castle of pillows, not able to look at the pirate captain in the eye.

Shanks was both surprised and amused by the boy's actions and he lay back to rest against his own pile of pillows while softly laughing at him. "What's wrong? Did you get scared about being a pirate's friend?"

There was a short pause before Shanks heard a soft mumble, "...I've never had a friend before."

Once his first surprise had passed, a sympathetic smile rose onto Shanks' face. "I see," he answered the boy, already figuring out the reason for Luffy not having had a friend before. He had been some sort of marine test subject. It was unlikely the boy had been able to have normal human interaction with anyone besides his grandfather.

While it was a sad fact, Shanks was determined to keep it in the past.

"Come here, Luffy," Shanks called for the boy and waited until the small raven-haired boy had half-crawled next to him from inside the pile of pillows. The boy looked at the man a bit shyly, waiting for what he was going to do.

"Look there," Shanks told the child, indicating the party in front of them. The boy did as he was told, looking at the loud group of men clearly having the time of their lives. Some were singing, some dancing, some laughing at each others' antics... they were having fun.

"All of us are your friends already, Luffy," Shanks told the boy.

Luffy kept staring at all the happy, free men for some time, not quite being able to believe Shanks' words. However, once it sunk into his head that Shanks wouldn't lie to him, Luffy took a shaky breath in and blinked for several times as he kept staring ahead. "My friends..." Luffy spoke softly, as if being afraid of wishing for something like it.  
Shanks smiled at the boy. He knew that Luffy would become a strong, confident kid one day. He had already seen a flash of that side of him, but Shanks knew it would take some more time for Luffy to be able to let go of his past and move forward. Maybe his time on their ship would turn out to be a good experience for him in that sense?

A good scent traveled across the deck to the two of them and Luffy inhaled the scent hungrily, his small mouth starting to water. One day the kid would be shouting for food right about then, but for now, he just kept staring at the table full of everything delicious like a hungry dog. Shanks chuckled at the boy and raised his hand up. "Bring us some of that meat, will you?"  
Someone by the grill moved to put a big serving of meat on a plate and was about to bring it to their captain when he was stopped by Yasopp. "Wait! You need to put some vegetables in there too! Luffy is a growing boy, eating only meat is bad for him!"

The pirates laughed at Yasopp's words, pointing out that his fatherly instincts were kicking in, but did as the other pirate had told.

Soon, the big plate was brought in front of the two and Luffy wasted no time in digging in once Shanks encouraged him to do so. The boy was so focused on eating that he didn't notice how all of the crew members were looking at him with kind smiles.

The party went on for hours and hours after that. The men ate and drank, sang and danced while their captain watched them from his spot. Luffy had fallen asleep at one point and had nestled in between a pile of pillows and his (secretly favorite) friend. Shanks had placed a blanket on the boy, knowing that he had only just recovered. He didn't want the kid to get sick again, even if the night was a warm one.  
Shanks sipped on his drink, not quite feeling like getting too drunk, just enjoying watching his crewmates enjoying themselves. It was then that Shanks' first mate approached him. The dark-haired man sat down next to his captain wordlessly, knowing that his captain wouldn't object.

"There is something you ought to know about that kid," Benn started and glanced at the sleeping child by Shanks' side.  
Shanks turned his attention to the man. "Is it about why he was held by the marines?"

Benn nodded and crossed his arms. "I did some digging. It seems like you picked up a troublesome one this time, captain."

Shanks frowned and placed his drink on the floor. "What did you find out?"

The first-mate looked at the child with concern as he answered, "he is much more than just a test subject for the marines. It might be hard to believe, but that kid is the sole reason the entire world isn't at war right now."

"What?!" Shanks hissed, unable to believe what he had just heard. He glanced at the other crew members, making sure none of them had been listening.

Benn nodded and continued, "he is the son of the most dangerous man alive - Dragon the Revolutionary – and he has been used as a political piece ever since he was captured right after his birth. I don't know the details, but it seems like the World Government has been using his life to control Dragon's movements for the last five years."

"And the experiments they did on him?" Shanks asked, still not seeing a reason to hurt the child.

Benn closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. "Not a part of the deal. It was probably their way of directing their anger."

Shanks stared at the other man for the longest time, clearly trying to digest everything he had been told. Then, he rested his forehead against his palm for a moment, letting out a long sigh.

The two of them stayed silent for a while, the only sound being the loud laughs of the partying crew, before Benn spoke again, "the marines will be wanting that kid back. You don't need me to tell you that whether he stays here or gets left somewhere, they will find him eventually."

Shanks let his hand fall over his mouth as he thought about the situation. He then looked down at the small bundle by his side and couldn't help a smile rising to his face.

"Luffy is my friend already. I can't let him go through those horrible experiences again."

Benn looked at his captain carefully. "You think his life will be better here with us?"

Shanks' eyes narrowed. "I'm not sure. But I do know that it's better than having to dream of freedom day after day, knowing that you can never get it."

Benn stayed silent, just looking at his captain. "You _do_ realize what you are doing?"

"I have a general idea," Shanks sighed and rested against the pillows behind him.

There was a pause before Benn stated the obvious, "with this, you're not going against just the marines, but the World Government – just for one child."

Shanks laughed at his first-mate's words before meeting his gaze. There was a gleam in Shanks' eyes that the first-mate mate could recognize. It was strong, feral, almost.

"I've been prepared to go against the world the day I became a pirate," the red-haired captain told, his voice low though there was a smile on his face.

Benn smirked. Even though he had been with his captain for more years than he could count, the man could still make his blood boil just by one look. It was one reason he still stayed by his side even after all the stupid things the man tended to do.  
"It looks like things are going get busy from now," Benn said, but didn't seem too bothered by the fact.  
The captain's expression turned dramatic as he sighed, "When did my life get so damn complicated?"

Benn could easily tell that the man was just faking it – he loved these exciting things that came along his pirate life, though this was the first time the captain was going to risk so much for someone who he has just met. It was unlike him and just like him at the same time. Still, Benn knew that whatever happened from then on, he knew where he was going to stay – by his captain's side, protecting the small child the man had taken under his wing.

* * *

 **I think Shanks smokes when he's stressed. Who knows?**

 **Hope you enjoyed this though it wasn't my best work. Feel free to point out any errors you find _but be nice about it, please._**

 **Question reply corner:**

 **Xerzo LotCN asked what the medicine was that the marines used on Luffy, and if it was liquid seastone.**

 **Answer: I don't really know myself. While liquid seastone would be quite a cool idea, I have a feeling that the marines wouldn't be able to make it. The medication Luffy was forced to take was probably a mix of a lot of things. They probably changed it up until they got the reaction they wanted from it - whatever it was.**

 **Until next time!**


	4. Chapter 4 - Sun and rain

**So sorry this took such a long time. Not only was I busy with studying, but my friend suddenly came over to stay at my place for over a week. While it was a lot of fun, it left me little time to write.**

 **I want to thank all of you who have left feedback on this story. It's so amazing to see that you are enjoying this story so far though we haven't even got to the best parts!**

 **Also, there seemed to be some confusion in the last chapter about whether Luffy was going to stay with Shanks or not. The answer is: yes. He will stay with them since Shanks came to the conclusion that there was no safe place for Luffy besides being with them.**

 **This chapter contains some fatherly Shanks and an adorable Luffy, so prepare yourselves! Also, a real warning: there are some mentions of the experiments done on Luffy which can be seen as torture.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 4 - Sun and rain during days of freedom**_

* * *

Luffy recognized the strange smell in the air. It was a strong smell which he couldn't name. The only thing he knew about it was that he hated it and it screamed _danger._ His feet felt cold as he was being walked through a long hallway without any proper clothing. They had dressed him in the stupid gown again. That and only that.  
The icy coldness beneath his feet slowly spread through his small body and Luffy tried to hug himself to stay warm. His steps slowed, but not for long as he was pushed forward by one of the two big men who were escorting him, making him yelp and stumble.

Luffy hated it. Every moment of it. He wanted to run because he knew what was coming next. He would walk through the cold hallway, all the way to the end, where there would be a big iron door. The door would open and then...

Suddenly, he was in front of the door. Luffy gasped; he didn't want to be there yet. He wasn't ready!

The door was opened. Tens of white gloved hands reached out for him and even though he tried to run, they grabbed him and pulled him inside.  
Luffy screamed for his grandfather to come and save him. He never did.

Before he noticed, he was strapped to a table with a lamp above his head, so bright that hurt his eyes. The horrible smell was even stronger now. Luffy felt like he couldn't breathe. He was scared.  
"No! No!" he tried to shout, "stop it!"

The people around him paid him no heed and started to calmly discuss about things Luffy didn't understand. He tried to struggle against his restraints but it was no use – he couldn't escape. He never could.  
Then, there was a needle being pointed at him.

"No-!" Luffy tried to protest, but the needle was faster. It dug into his skin on his neck. Then, flames ignited inside of him.

He was burning. Screaming didn't help. The flames wouldn't go away. It hurt, and it kept hurting. The pain grew worse and he felt like all his blood was ablaze.

"Help me, Shanks!" Luffy shouted.

The name suddenly hit him back.

"Shanks?" he asked into a sudden darkness, and the pain disappeared in a flash.

He took a deep breath, desperate as if he had never taken a breath before, and opened his eyes. It was dark. He wasn't in the horrible room anymore. He wasn't being held down. He wasn't burning inside.

Luffy sat up and tried to calm his breathing. He kept telling himself over and over again: "it was just a dream" and hugged himself.

Once he had been able to calm down a little, Luffy looked across the room, where Shanks' bed was. The man was snoring loudly, his other arm hanging over the edge of the bed while he kept drooling onto his pillow. He had clearly not been bothered by anything that had just happened.

Luffy looked down at his hands. He could still feel the pain of all the experiments he had had to go through. He rubbed his hands together and tried to warm himself up. The cold feeling of his dream was still not gone, nor were the quick beats of his heart.  
For a small moment, Luffy wondered if Shanks would mind if he would go to sleep next him. The boy shook away the thought. He didn't want to bother the man with his silly nightmares. He had always been able to forget his nightmares alone.

Well, maybe not all alone; he had always had Admiral Woof with him. Gramps had brought him with him when Luffy had been a baby. Admiral Woof couldn't speak or move, but Luffy loved him a lot. The plush toy was big and cuddly and it was always able to make Luffy forget about his nightmares.  
...But even he was gone now. Admiral Woof had sunk along with his grandfather's ship.  
Luffy clutched his blanket and brought it up to his face. Tears started to gather in his eyes and his lower lip started to quiver. "Admiral Woof..."

Luffy hid his face, knowing that he would start crying soon. He felt really, really lonely. He wanted someone to make him feel better. He wanted to forget about his nightmare and wanted to not miss his gramps so much. Missing someone made him feel so much more lonely.  
And that's how Luffy found himself standing next to Shanks' bed, clutching his pillow tightly to hold back his tears. He held his head down as he started to poke the red-haired man, too ashamed to make a sound. He knew that the man might tease him for what he was doing, but he just felt so _bad_ right now and the only one he knew could make things better was Shanks.

The man groaned after Luffy's twentieth poke and opened his eyes. He blinked for several times before he could recognize the boy. "Luffy?" the man asked, his voice hoarse.

Luffy stared down at his feet and shuffled them in embarrassment. He was afraid to let out a sound, and when he tried, a single sob escaped him.

The sound made Shanks sit up and face the boy. "Hey, what's wrong?" the man asked, sounding genuinely worried.

Luffy reluctantly spoke, "I- there was a nightmare and – and Admiral Woof is gone and-" by this time Luffy couldn't hold back his sobs and his words became incomprehensible. The only words Shanks could somehow make out were: "scared" and his own name.

He had seen the kid cry for a few times, yes, but not quite like this. The man smiled down at the crying boy and scooped him up from the floor. The boy grabbed onto his shirt instantly and wailed against his chest.  
Shanks sat there for a moment, just telling Luffy reassuring things and stroking his hair. The boy eventually calmed and went almost completely lax in the man's arms, exhausted by all the crying he had done.

Shanks wordlessly picked up Luffy's pillow from the floor and placed it next to his own before carefully resting the boy's head on it. Luffy stared at the red-haired man tiredly as the man settled down next to him. Shanks smiled at Luffy reassuringly. "Go to sleep, Anchor. I'll keep watch."

Luffy smiled as an answer and snuggled into his pillow, finally feeling safe.

It only took a moment before the boy was fast asleep.

Shanks laughed at himself inside; he had no idea when he had become so good at handling children. He grabbed his blanket and draped it over himself and the boy next to him, offering one more smile before resting his own head down to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Luffy was up and about before Shanks had even cracked open an eye. The boy was feeling energetic and was eager to explore the ship some more and talk to the nice pirates on the ship. That's how Luffy ended up running towards the door. When he got out onto the deck, he was surprised to find that the sky had turned dark – almost black – and a strong wind was picking up.  
Luffy stared at the sky in awe. It looked really cool in his opinion, and there was something in the air that he couldn't place. It was something strong and it felt... alive.  
"Luffy!" someone called and the child turned his head to see Lucky Roo approaching him. The man was almost running, which Luffy found to be a funny looking sight considering the man's big size. When he reached the boy he asked kindly, "what are you doing here? Did you just wake up?"

Luffy smiled and nodded. "Yeah! Shanks is a lazy bum so he's still sleeping!"

Roo was taken back by Luffy's choice of words. "'Lazy bum' – who told you that?" Lucky Roo was sure it didn't belong to a child's vocabulary. Though, he wouldn't really know.

"I heard one guy say it! Gra-Grepa-Grebo- something was his name!" the boy proudly told.

Roo only gave a laugh. "I see. Now how about we get some breakfast, aye? It's going to start raining soon," the man told and started leading the child towards the galley.

Luffy's eyes went wide. "It's going to start raining?!"

Roo was surprised by Luffy's reaction. "Yeah, you can smell in the air already. Any time now."

Luffy looked at Roo as they walked across the deck before he turned his head to look at the dark sky. "That's cool..."

"The rain?" Roo asked.

"Yeah! Gramps took me to the garden one day when it rained and my clothes got all wet! It was weird!"

Roo laughed at the child's enthusiasm. "I see, then how about we come outside and play once we have finished breakfast?"

Luffy's eyes lit up instantly. "Really?! We can?!"

Roo nodded, "of course! You can do anything you want now, remember?"

Luffy's grin stretched to his eyes and he laughed. "Yeah! 'Coz I'm free!"

"That's right," Roo told and ruffled Luffy's hair. As the two went into the galley, the man could hear the familiar pitter-patter of the rain falling onto the deck.

The galley was filled with light and warmth. The two got themselves big "pirate breakfasts" - as Luffy would call them – and sat down among other members of the crew. Roo was happy to notice that Luffy was feeling more comfortable with everyone and didn't shy away when they would ask him questions. The child chatted away with some of the men and ate his breakfast with enthusiasm.

"I wonder if there's going to be a storm?" someone asked. Luffy was about to ask about it when a certain Red-haired pirate joined them.

Shanks ruffled Luffy's hair as he sat down next to the boy. "So this is where you were, Anchor," the man greeted the child.

Luffy looked at the man and saw that his shirt was dotted with darker spots. "Shanks! Did you get wet?!" Luffy suddenly shouted when he understood that the man might have gotten wet from the rain, startling more than a few men in the galley.

Shanks blinked at Luffy a few times. "Uh, yeah, I did."

Stars appeared in Luffy's eyes and his tiny fists clenched tightly. "That's so cool!"

The red-haired pirate sweatdropped and tried to wrap his mind around Luffy's reaction. "You...like rain?"  
Luffy nodded furiously. "I like it!"

Shanks held back a laugh and ran a hand through his hair as he settled into his seat better. "We'll check it out once I've filled my stomach, okay, kid?"  
From that moment on, Luffy kept fidgeting in his seat, anxious to run out to play in the rain. When Shanks had finally finished his breakfast, the child jumped up and latched onto Shanks' shirt. "Let's go! Let's go!" the child kept chanting until the man finally got up from his seat.  
"I get it, I get it. We're going," the man told a bit reluctantly. He wasn't really feeling as excited as Luffy was.  
When they were at the door, Roo called his captain's name. When the man turned, two dark objects were thrown at him. He caught them and saw that they were two of the raincoats they kept around. However, one had clearly gone through some sort of surgery.  
Roo looked proud of himself as he explained: "I cut one of them to fit Luffy better. It's still not really his size, but it should be better than nothing!"

Shanks gave a grateful look and thanked the man before telling Luffy to lift his arms so he could put on the coat. The boy's head disappeared underneath the big hood, but he only seemed to be enjoying the new clothing he had received as he kept giggling wildly as he tried to look around.  
Shanks put on his raincoat and asked someone to draw the two of them a bath since he knew they would be needing it.

And he was right.  
Luffy was like a small animal once he had held out his hands for a little while and understood that yes, rainwater was wet. He started to run around, laughing loudly while jumping up and down. It was no wonder that Luffy kept falling down repeatedly, but the boy didn't seem to mind as he would just jump up again and run some more.  
To Shanks, there was nothing more amusing than this.  
Luffy's energy seemed endless, but Shanks knew that the fun had to end at some point or they would both end up in the sickbed.  
Right when Shanks had been about to call out to the boy, Luffy had been leaning over the railing and was it not for Shanks' quick reflexes, the boy would have been lost in the dark waters.  
"I think that's enough for today," Shanks told as he was holding Luffy from his arm to keep him from falling. He pulled the boy up and once he was sure the boy was okay – which he was, the little idiot didn't seem to be too faced by his near-death experience – Shanks led Luffy towards the bathroom.

The two had a bath, which didn't turn out to be very relaxing as Luffy kept splashing the water and playing around, before dressing themselves and going back to Shanks' room.

The rest of the day Luffy lay on Shanks' bed and watched the rain fall. He made it seem like the most interesting thing in the world as his gaze never left the window.

The red-haired captain silently wished he could have spent his day typically – drinking some ale and not worrying about anything – but being painfully sober, he remembered that he had duties of a captain. So he sat at his desk and planned their voyage as well as checked their financial situation. He called in a few people who would tell how much supplies they had and if there was anything specific they needed. All in all, it took surprisingly lot of time, and by the time he was finished a storm had formed around the ship.

* * *

It had started as a faint rumbling sound.

The sound slowly grew louder and was accompanied by bright, flashing lights. Luffy could see how the lighting hit the ocean far behind them over and over again. It was nothing like he had seen before. His eyes were fixed to the window and he had a concentrated look on his face. Shanks noticed this and leaned back in his chair.  
"Do you like thunder?" the man asked.

Luffy didn't move to answer. "Yeah, it's cool," he answered, but was too focused to keep up a conversation.

Shanks chuckled and stood up from his seat. "I see, then you won't mind me going outside for a moment, will you?"  
Luffy hummed and answered, "nope!"

Shanks smiled and grabbed his raincoat from where he had put it to dry. He looked back at the child and just held the door handle for a moment. "I'll be back soon. Don't go out right now, okay?" Shanks told.

The child answered with a happy "I get it!" and Shanks left the room.

Unfortunately, the storm got worse and soon it was an all hands on deck – situation. Well, all hands but the very smallest ones. The ship rocked violently as the rain kept pouring down.  
Luffy had crept under the blankets and tried to hold onto the bed – which was fixed to the floor – as hard as he could. The lighting kept flashing even more frequently than before, and the loud rumble kept growing louder. Luffy tried to convince himself that he wasn't afraid. He _hadn't_ ever been afraid of thunder, it was just that this storm was a lot worse than the ones he had seen. There was also the fact that he was all alone; no gramps, no Admiral Woof, no Shanks.

Suddenly, there was a horribly loud sound. Luffy put his hands to his ears and tried to block it but it was too late – the damage had already been done. A cold feeling passed Luffy at the same time as he relieved a sudden memory.

The memory of his grandpa's ship.

Luffy was back in the ship again as it was under attack and the cannonballs kept hitting the ship, making it rock. He scrambled up and quickly hid under the bed again. This time he would listen to his gramps. He wouldn't come out until it was safe. Maybe he could see him again then?  
Maybe it was because he was bad that gramps had disappeared in the first place?  
There was another loud sound and Luffy couldn't help when a scream escaped him. That scream turned into a sob and soon, the boy was crying his eyes out all alone underneath the bed.

It was only when the loud sounds had started to fade and the ship's movement had calmed that the red-haired pirate returned to the room.  
"Sorry Luffy, the storm was a bit stronger than we expected. They needed me to-" Shanks had put his raincoat to dry and turned around to see an empty room. "Luffy?" he asked. He could soon hear whimpering from somewhere and it didn't take him long to pinpoint where the sound came from. He walked over to the bed and crouched. "Luffy? Are you okay?"

The boy kept crying but slowly turned his head to look at his savior. "S-Shanks," the boy stuttered, his big eyes wide with fear.

Shanks was confused at first, but he soon realized that it was Luffy's first time experiencing a storm at the sea. It was much more intense than on land. It was no surprise the kid was freaked out.  
"Sorry, I stayed out too long. Come here," the man told and held out his hand.  
Luffy's lip started to tremble even more than it already was and he launched himself towards the red-haired man, throwing the both of them onto the floor. The boy cried against Shanks' chest, just like the night before, while the man quickly gathered himself enough to hold the boy with one arm.

"I-I thought you were gone too!" the boy cried, though his words were barely comprehensible.  
"What do you mean?" Shanks asked in confusion.

"'Coz gramps is gone too! I thought that you would disappear just like him!"

Shanks looked at the child in his arms sadly.

"But I waited! I waited this time! I didn't want you to be gone too, so I waited!" the child kept explaining.

"Luffy," Shanks started, "don't tell me you think it's your fault that your grandfather is-"

"-But I was bad!" Luffy interrupted, "I didn't wait for him at all! And now he's gone!"

Shanks swiftly lifted himself off the floor along with Luffy and placed the boy on his bed before crouching before him and holding his small hands. His expression was serious as he stared into the boy's eyes. "Listen to me Luffy. _We_ are the reason your grandfather's ship sank. It's not your fault, okay? Don't ever think it's your fault."

Luffy looked a bit frightened for a moment, but then he nodded and looked at his hands.

Shanks let out a small sight and smiled. "Come on then, you must be hungry. The men started to prepare for dinner just now." He stood and leaned closer to Luffy before lifting the boy up into his arms. The boy put his arms around Shanks' neck and hid his teary, red eyes into the man's shoulder.  
Shanks would have made fun of the boy if it weren't for the fact he was _five._ Instead, he just held onto the boy tightly as he quickly ran across the deck to the galley.  
While it was a surprise to all the members of the crew to see Luffy in such a state, they were able to quickly turn on their happy faces to cheer up the child. It didn't take long until Luffy's smiling face was back again, but the boy was still too content in Shanks' lap to move from there for the rest of the evening.

* * *

"Don't you think you've gone soft, Captain?" the first-mate teased his captain. The two of them were alone on the deck during that night, Shanks having joined Benn on his watch.  
The moon was almost full and it shined brightly on the cloudless sky, illuminating the lone ship as well as making a bridge on the dark ocean. The two men stared at the calm waters, leaning against the railing in silence.  
"Soft? What are you talking about?" Shanks asked without looking at the other man.

A golden light flickered against Benn's face for a moment as he lit his cigarette. "I'm talking about the kid," the taller man told, resting his forearms against the railing like his captain was. "You've changed since you picked him up."

A sour look crossed Shanks' face and he childishly avoided his first-mate's eyes. "Not really."

Benn resisted the urge to laugh at his captain. The man was becoming a father-figure for Luffy, yet he himself was no better than a child. Which brought him to his next question. "You're going to have to raise him, you know?"

Shanks glanced at the taller man and let his face sink into his arms for a moment. When he looked up at the horizon again, his expression was a mix of many emotions. Benn was able to read the man relatively easily. Shanks had known the fact that keeping Luffy with them would bring a lot of problems in the future. He knew what they were going up against and for what. Yet, for this one child, Shanks had decided to risk it all. He was taking responsibility for his entire crew's lives, but also Luffy's. The kid no longer had the chance to have a normal life. No, he had never that chance in the first place. But now, he would have to learn how to live as a pirate. It was far from a normal life. While staying with them for who knows how long, the kid would have to see death for many more times before he was going to even be at the age to process it properly.  
The only one who could keep the kid from breaking was the one existence he valued over everyone else. Shanks.

"I know," the red-haired man told quietly, his eyes shining with honesty. Yet, there was also a deep sadness in those eyes as well as the emotion Benn rarely saw in the man; uncertainty.

Benn had been ready to rant about the many reasons why it was a bad idea to keep a kid with them, just to make sure his captain fully understood what he was doing. However, seeing the look on his captain's face, the first-mate knew that the man had already thought about it all. That's why he stayed silent, just standing by his captain's side like usual.

"To be honest, I'm feeling unsure. I have no idea what it's like to raise a kid – none of us do – and Luffy is... he's so _small_. He's been through a hell we can only imagine. How am I supposed to help him? How can I make sure he can grow up to be strong one day? All of that fell on my shoulders," Shanks told and looked at his first-mate in desperation. "He doesn't have anyone else!"

While seeing his strong captain in such a lost state was quite startling, Benn couldn't help but be reminded of the man's childish moments. He, like many times before, put a hand on the red-haired man's shoulder to reassure him. "Don't worry about it so much. It's not like you're alone. This crew isn't here just to fight battles for you. You can count on everyone here."

Shanks' eyes widened for a moment before his expression softened and a small smile appeared. He took a breath and nodded a few times. "You're right. It's a bit different this time but... I'm not alone."

"That's right."

Shanks turned back to look at the ocean before laughing. "Raising a kid, huh? I sure didn't plan on doing that yet – if ever!" the man told and laughed once again.  
Benn just smiled silently.  
"But – I'm sure that it can't be that hard! Luffy is a good kid after all. He'll be a great pirate yet. We'll make sure of that."

Benn couldn't help when a dark thought crossed his mind, extinguishing his smile. "I sure hope so."

Shanks could hear the uncertainty in the man's voice which made him look at him in question.

The taller man thought about not telling what was in his mind for a moment before deciding against it. He had his duty as a first-mate to think about.

"The marines probably think Luffy died during that attack against Vice-Admiral Garp. We still have that advantage. But what about when they find out Luffy is with us?" Benn let the question hang in the air for a moment, watching how his captain stared at him intently.

"Luffy is more important to the marines than we can imagine," Benn explained, "if they find out he's alive, there's no way they will let him go. They will do everything in their power to get him back." Benn locked his eyes with his captain's. "You said you would protect him, but what then? What about when they realize that they can't have him back? How do you think the marines will respond?"

Shanks stayed silent, waiting for his first-mate to continue.  
"Luffy is a proof of their twisted sense of justice. Not only does he have the blood of the worst criminal in the world, but he is also the very reason peace existed for five years. They will make sure his father will never know he isn't in their grasp any longer."

"You mean...?"

Benn nodded. The two didn't continue the conversation for any longer.  
When Benn's cigarette had long since gone out, Shanks finally spoke again. He looked determined as he stared ahead, the moon's light creating a dangerous gleam inside of his eyes. "That doesn't change what we want to do. Luffy will stay with us until he is strong enough to protect his own freedom. Until then, we will protect it for him."

Benn stared ahead at the dark horizon. "Yes. But for now, we must buy time."

The two stayed on the deck for hours, both staying completely silent until the sun started rising. Shanks only left when he remembered that he no longer could only worry about his own life, there being a small life in his room who he had vowed to protect. And apparently, it would take a lot more than just keeping the boy alive. He needed to feel safe, protected, happy. If that meant that Shanks had to be there when Luffy woke up, then that was what he would do. He had taken up the duty and no matter how troublesome it would be, he would see it to the end.

Though, seeing Luffy's radiant smile when he woke up and saw him there was not half bad, Shanks decided. Somehow, the future – however dark it would become – didn't seem so threatening when the kid smiled.

* * *

 **Things will start to get more interesting in the upcoming chapters. I promise.**

 **As always, reviews are appreciated.**


	5. Chapter 5-1 - A change of course

**I'm back! Horray!**  
 **So to give you the worst excuse ever for being away for two months, I've gotten into knitting. I'm making a dress. Also, good new animes and series up lately, huh?**  
 **...I'm so sorry about myself. I honestly have absolutely no excuse.**

 **This chapter was so long that I had to divide it into two parts to keep it around the length I wanted. Not sure when the second part will be up since it isn't finished yet. Hopefully soon.**

 **If you want to read some answers to the questions some of you had, the answers will be down at the bottom.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 5-1 - A change of course**_

* * *

The sky had never looked bigger than it did on that day. The white, thin patches floating over the deep blue created a beautiful contrast over the ocean, which was so calm that it mirrored the image above it almost perfectly. From the small ship sailing through it all, it looked as if there was no end to the horizon – no land to ever come in sight. The men aboard knew differently, however, and though the world around them was as beautiful as it could ever be at such an unpredictable sea, there was little peace in their mind.

The lower deck had been bustling with life the entire morning as every crew member had done their part in preparing for upcoming docking and once their tasks had been done, the energy left over from all the excitement had left the men feeling impatient. Thankfully, a small distraction had appeared on the deck at that moment. It was someone who was almost an expert in having too much energy.

It hadn't taken a lot of time before the men had all joined in to a playful game of tag. The ship was quickly filled with one child's gleeful shrieks and giggles as well as the soft laughs of the men. It was a sound none of them had heard before on their ship before, and sailing through such beautiful view accompanied by that sound made them all feel a bit more pure despite who they were.

The captain and his first-mate stood on the higher level and watched the scene in front of them. They both had relaxed against the railing in front of them, letting themselves stop and enjoy the moment. The breeze was almost none-existing and the sun warmed their skin in a gentle way. For the smallest minute, it seemed as if the time had stopped just to give them this day to enjoy in peace.

Shanks watched as Yasopp made a face at Luffy, urging the child to chase after him before hiding behind the mast for a second until the boy ran after him. The boy tried to catch the laughing man, who kept running around the deck. Eventually, the man faked that the tripped on something so that Luffy was finally able to touch him. The proud smile on the boy's face caused a smile to spread onto Shanks' face as well.

"It's good to see he's getting along with everyone now," Benn said, ending the long silence the two of them had shared.

Shanks kept looking at Luffy and his men who had all reverted back into being children again. He sighed contently, "Yeah."

An amused smile spread on Benn's face as he watched as Lucky Roo took his turn to act clumsy during his chase after Luffy, causing everyone to laugh loudly. "He used to be clinging onto you up until now. It seems like he can't even remember you're around now," Benn teased, but received no more than a gentle smile in return from the red-haired man.

"No," the captain started as he kept looking at the child, who right at that moment turned around to wave at the man. "-He knows I'm here."

Benn chuckled at the two, still finding the connection between them unbelievable in many sense.

The two settled back into a peaceful silence, letting the ship glide through the calm ocean carrying laughter and joy. Slowly, time started moving again in the minds of the two men and the heavy ticking of a clock could once again be felt.

Though the laughter could still be heard, the smiles slowly melted away from the captain's and the first-mate's faces.

"He needs to know," Benn simply said, knowing that the red-haired man would understand his words.

Shanks looked at the laughing boy a bit sadly as he answered, "I know."

Benn studied the man for a minute before focusing on the life on the lower deck again. "Sooner is better than later. When we dock, he will want to come with you. If he doesn't know why he-"

"-I know," Shanks interrupted the taller man and added with a heavy sigh, "I'll tell him everything before we reach the island."

For a moment, Benn felt like justifying the way he acted towards his captain, but quickly pushed the feeling away, knowing that it was exactly what he was supposed to do. He watched as Shanks pushed himself away from the railing, straightening himself and clearly preparing himself mentally. The man then walked to the stairs and called for Luffy.

The boy's head instantly whipped around and focused on the man – resembling a log pose that had finally found the next island to head to. A smile spread onto the boy's face, oblivious to the strained one on Shanks' lips. He quickly got himself out of the grip of one of the crew members and ran towards the man, quickly forgetting about all the games he had been playing until then. "Shanks!" The boy exclaimed as he ran in front of the man, giggling as he received a ruffling of his hair.

"Come here Anchor, I have something to talk about," Shanks told and put a hand on Luffy's shoulder to guide him up the steps.

Luffy's joy quickly turned into confusion as he could sense that something was a bit different from the usual Shanks. He quickly got a confirmation to his suspicion as Shanks took him somewhere away from everyone else and knelt in front of him, wearing a strange expression.

"Luffy..." Shanks started before taking a moment to search for the right words. "Do you know why you were with the marines up until we met?"

Luffy glanced away and looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking his head.

Shanks nodded slowly and licked his lips before he could gather his courage to meet the child's confused gaze. "You see... your dad is someone who the marines want to catch very badly," Shanks began and tried to think of a way to explain something like this to a five-year-old.

"My dad? Gramps said he is a bad man," Luffy said simply, clearly not having thought about his father much until then.

"Yeah, the marines would probably see him that way," Shanks stated more to himself than the child in front of him. He gave a light sight before looking at Luffy meaningfully. "Luffy, the marines will see your father as a threat as long as he lives and that means that they will be after you as well," Shanks told and watched as fear mixed with the confusion on Luffy's face. "I want to keep you safe so that you won't ever have to go through those horrible things again. That's why you need to stay here on the ship, hidden, for now."

"Shanks?" Luffy questioned, not keeping up with the conversation, but still understanding that there was something wrong.

Shanks placed his hands on the boy's small shoulders. "The marines don't know that you're here with us right now. If you stay here when we get to land, we have a better chance of keeping you safe. Can you do that, Luffy?"

Luffy could sense that Shanks was going somewhere. He was going, and Luffy wasn't. "You're leaving?" Luffy asked sadly, his eyes wide with fear.  
Shanks glanced to his side before their eyes met again. "Yes, but I won't be gone for long. I promise."

Luffy almost jumped in the air and started to shake his head wildly. "No! I don't want to!" he told and flew against the man's chest, grasping a hold of his shirt. "Don't leave me!"

Shanks was a bit startled from Luffy's sudden outburst, but managed a smile and a pat on the boy's head. "It's okay, Luffy. Roo will stay here with you. You like Roo, don't you?" Luffy nodded against Shanks' chest, but didn't relax.

"You two can play games all day," the red-haired pirate told while rubbing the small boy's back. "You won't even know I'm gone."

Luffy's head whipped up. "I will! If Shanks isn't here, I'll be lonely!"

Shanks couldn't help but smile at Luffy's sincere words. "I know, Anchor. But I need your help on keeping the ship safe, okay?"

"...My help?"

"Yeah! There are all sorts of criminals on land who might try to rob us. I'm going to need your help in keeping all our things safe. I can count on you, right?" Shanks told, hoping to rouse some feeling of excitement from Luffy.

Luffy looked down sadly. "But I'm really tiny and weak... I can't do anything."

Shanks smiled at the boy's words, already having prepared an answer. "That's not true! I told you, you aren't going to be alone. Roo will be here with you. So, if you see anything suspicious, you have to shout really loud so that Roo will hear. He can take care of anything scary."

Luffy looked up at Shanks with wide eyes. "I just have to shout?"

"That's right! I really need your help with this so... can I trust you?" Shanks asked the boy seriously.

Luffy seemed to think about it for a while. "When are you coming back?" he asked.

Shanks gave a reassuring smile. "Soon. I will be back before sun goes down."

Luffy's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yes, really."

A smile finally rose to the child's lips and he clenched his tiny fists in determination. He nodded, "I will protect Shanks' ship!" he declared.

Shanks ruffled Luffy's hair and stood up. "Thanks Luffy. You're a big help."

The two walked to the bow of the ship, Luffy staying right next to Shanks the entire time. However, the small, uncertain hand was gone from Shanks' pant leg this time.

The two watched as the outline of the island was slowly coming to view, although this time the sight didn't seem as joyful as usual as it announced a short separation for the two.

* * *

"No."

"Luffy, come on. You can't sit there all day."

"No," the boy told once again stubbornly.

Luffy had been sitting on the railing ever since the ship had docked and he had had to watch Shanks leave him behind. He had promised to protect the ship but Luffy decided that it was no fun without Shanks around.

Roo sighed and scratched the back of his head thoughtfully. He was a bit lost on how to handle a child missing his "parent". He knew he could never replace his captain, but wanted to do something for the kid. He looked around. The ship wasn't exactly child-friendly. The only "toys" they had were made of sharp metal or weighted about a ton, and were no way suitable things for a very uncoordinated (as they had been proven) child like Luffy to play with. He would have to be a bit more creative. Then he got it.

"Hey, Luffy! You like adventures, right?" Roo prompted. Luffy's back straightened and his full attention was on the pirate. His eyes were wide and waiting as he made a sound of agreement.

Roo smiled, he had finally got his attention. "Then, have you heard about the adventure where Shanks met _giants_?" Roo asked.

Luffy's mouth opened wide and he shook his head wildly. "Shanks met giants?!" he asked, all immersed in the story before it had even started.

Roo smiled to himself, it had been a correct decision to use Shanks as the story's "hero". This way, Luffy wouldn't miss the man as much during their separation.  
"Yeah, this all happened on the first half of Grand-Line..."

* * *

The sun had fallen low behind the horizon, coloring the sky in fiery hues of red. The only sound on the beach was the loud laughter of pirates who returned to their ship for the day. Their shoulders were weighted with supplies enough to feed an army, but none of them seemed to even notice the huge sacks or barrels as they laughed away.

Once they were at their ship, the captain stopped. His first-mate stood next to him and noticed the same thing as his captain had. "It's quiet."

The joy was quickly gone from Shanks' features. "Too quiet," he decided and threw down the barrel he had been carrying before quickly climbing up a rope to the deck. When he saw the empty ship, worry finally hit him with full force. The man didn't wait for back-up, but ran straight to the galley, which turned out to be empty as well. When he dashed across the deck towards his quarters, he was already shouting Luffy's name on top of his lungs. He didn't expect to find Roo sitting calmly in a chair (eating meat as usual) and hushing him once he stormed in. It took a moment before the now-panicked man could understand what he was seeing. Once he did, he let out a breath he hadn't noticed he had been holding and leaned against the door-frame. "I thought he had been taken..." Shanks told quietly.

"Captain, I wish you would trust me more than that," Roo told, but it was clear that he hadn't been offended.

The small figure shifted and moved with a groan. Both of the men in the room turned their attention to the boy as he was woken from his sleep. Luffy slowly sat up on the bed.

"Mmm...Roo?" the boy asked as he rubbed his eyes tiredly. But once he saw a glimpse of red hair at the door, the boy was wide awake. "Shanks!?"

The man smiled. "Hey, Luffy. I'm back-" before Shanks could finish his sentence, a rubbery rocket collided with him. He was sent flying on the floor outside, his head colliding with the deck in a very uncomfortable way. However, the pain was quickly forgotten when he saw Luffy beaming at him.

"Welcome back!" Luffy said. "Roo told me to tell you that when you come here!"

Shanks didn't even notice the small error in Luffy's speech and just ruffled Luffy's head affectionately as he pushed himself up. "Thanks, Luffy. Did you protect the ship like I told you?"

Luffy nodded. "Yeah! But Shanks, did you _**really**_ fight a big seaking?"

Shanks was confused for a moment. "I have fought many seakings."

"No, no," Luffy shook his head and spread his arms. "It was the size of an island!"

Shanks made a sound of understanding. "Oh, _that_ one. Yeah, it was a very tough opponent."

Luffy's eyes turned into stars. "That's so cool! Shanks is like a hero!"

Shanks laughed and patted Luffy's head. "A hero? Pirates aren't heroes, Anchor." The man then looked over his shoulder. "Hey, Benn, bring that 'thing'!" he told his first-mate, who had long since boarded the ship and was helping with carrying the supplies. When he heard his captain, a smile spread on his face and he brought over a bag.

Luffy looked confused when Shanks rummaged through the supply bag. Then, he found what he was looking for. He lifted something furry and brown. It turned out to be a big dog plush toy.

"Here, I brought you a present! A real dog might be a bit troublesome on the ship, but I'm sure this guy can at least protect you from your nightmares," Shanks explained proudly.

Luffy looked at the plush toy for a while with his mouth wide open before his eyes started to sparkle. He reached for the toy and was surprised how soft the dog's fur was. Luffy just stared at the toy for a long time without letting out a single sound.

"Do you like it?" Shanks had to ask.

Luffy then quickly squeezed the toy against his chest and smiled more widely than Shanks remembered ever seeing. "Yeah!" the child told, his cheeks rosy from excitement and joy towards the gift.

Yasopp walked over to the three as his hands had finally gotten free of any cargo. He saw Luffy hugging the big dog while doing a small dance as the captain and first-mate watched him. "Ooh, Luffy, you got a doggie, huh?" Yasopp asked, stopping Luffy on his tracks. "Have you named him yet?"

Luffy lifted the dog in front of his face and inspected it thoughtfully. "Umm... I'll name him Shanks! Coz he's the coolest!"

The said man gained a bit red on his cheeks at the cute and honest words of his protege. "Yaa... as much as I appreciate that, Luffy, I think it might become a little confusing to have two Shanks' on the ship."

Luffy looked surprised at the man's words, clearly not being on the same page with the red-haired captain.

"You had a dog named Woof, didn't you?" the captain questioned the boy.

Luffy nodded and added, " _Admiral_ Woof!"

The three men smiled at the name. "How about naming him Woof as well? You won't miss your old dog as much then," Shanks offered.  
Luffy looked at his new companion thoughtfully. Then, a smile spread on his face and he lifted the dog up. "He's 'Captain Woof'!"

* * *

Luffy felt angry. Or at least that's what he thought when his small mind couldn't place the feeling of frustration. They had been traveling for a long time now (how long exactly, Luffy couldn't remember) and he hadn't been allowed to come to land for the last two times they had docked. Now, he had once again been told to stay on the ship. "Stupid Shanks," Luffy muttered and threw a toy-car across the room in anger. The wooden toy made a loud sound in the silent room, but only he was around to hear it. He knew that someone had stayed behind to look after him but Luffy didn't even know who it was this time. And if it was someone who didn't want to play with him, Luffy deduced that the person was probably not a fun person to be with. Not everyone was cool like Shanks, unfortunately.

Luffy looked up at the big pile of toys that had slowly accumulated next to his bed. The pirates would always bring him something from the towns they visited, just like Shanks had the first time he went away. Luffy looked at his companion that lay on the floor next to him. He grabbed the dog and hugged it to his chest tightly.

None of the toys in front of him could ever replace anyone. The toys didn't speak to him or tell him jokes, nor did they give him hugs or a pat on the head when he wanted. Especially today the toys felt really stupid.

Luffy glared at the toys once more before standing up and heading to the door. He still held onto Captain Woof tightly as he walked to the dark deck. It wasn't night-time yet, but the sky was full of thick clouds, making it seem like it was later in the day than it really was. Luffy wondered for a moment if it was going to rain, but the thought quickly vanished as he had learned not to try to read the weather in Grand-Line.

He walked to the railing and stared at the island they had docked at. The water had been deep enough for them to dock straight next to the land, unlike often when they had to take smaller boats to reach land. The island had a big mountain in the middle, and so Luffy could see the lights of the town built there.

"Shanks is probably there," Luffy said silently. He felt his mood worsen at the thought. He missed Shanks.

Luffy wanted to get away from the ship badly. He wanted to go running around in a forest and taste yummy foods he had never heard of before. He wanted to be with Roo and Benn and Shanks and everyone - not be stuck on the ship all alone.

Luffy didn't understand why, but he felt afraid. He wondered if Shanks left him on purpose and if he just thought that he was a bother. Luffy shook his head to get rid of those thoughts. Shanks wouldn't do that, he told himself.

Luffy turned around and decided to find something to do. He marched to the galley and was determined to find the person in charge of him. He peeked into the room and saw one of the pirates sitting at a table, reading something. Or, at least that's what he _had_ been doing before he had fallen asleep. Luffy frowned. He knew that the pirate wasn't going to be any fun.

Then, an idea hit him. He almost dismissed it completely at first since it went against everything Shanks had told him not to do, but then his curiosity won over. Luffy ran back to the deck and looked at the island. A little walk couldn't hurt, right? There was no one around anyways. He would be back before anyone could notice.

Luffy nodded to himself and quickly stuffed Captain Woof inside of his red t-shirt that Yasopp had picked for him. He then held onto the railing and started walking back to stretch his arms. There was no longer any pain, just the strange feeling of his arms stretching to an inhuman length. When he felt his body starting to move forward, he finally jumped up and let himself be rocketed from the ship. The flight was short, but made Luffy's heart race in a good way. He landed in an ungraceful way, rolling through the coastline for a moment before stopping. When his vision wasn't spinning anymore, Luffy jumped up and retrieved his friend from inside of his shirt.

"We're going on an adventure, Captain Woof! Are you ready?" Luffy asked the dog as he held it up. The toy didn't answer, but Luffy seemed happy enough even without receiving a single word. "Let's go!" Luffy shouted and pumped up his small fist in the air as he began to walk away from the ship.

* * *

He didn't know quite how, but Luffy had at some point found himself wandering around the streets of an unfamiliar town. Unlike from far away, the town wasn't pretty up close. The streets were dirty, just like the people walking through them, and the air reeked of something Luffy hadn't smelled before. Luffy held onto his companion tightly and tried to avoid the eyes of the people around him.

The sounds in the air consisted of shouts, laughter and strange screams. It was nothing like Luffy was used to and he decided that he didn't like it. He wondered for a moment if he should try calling out Shanks' name, but his throat felt too tight to let out a sound.  
The street was surprisingly long and Luffy started to feel hungry and scared. He turned around to see where he had come from, but found that he couldn't remember that anymore.

Suddenly, two men were approaching Luffy, making him tense and whimper. They sneered at the sight of him and Luffy didn't like how their eyes looked. He squeezed his toy tighter against him and turned around to run, only to bump into someone and fall down.

One of the men laughed. "Where did you come from, lil' kid? This isn't a good place for you to be in," one of the men behind Luffy told, his voice sounding too deep and terrifying for the boy.

Luffy was unable to answer as he tried to scramble to his feet as fast as he could. He didn't know how, he just knew that he needed to get away from these men.

"Not so fast!" the fat man, whom Luffy had bumped into, told and grabbed Luffy's small arm. Luffy's skin stretched only for the smallest bit before he snapped back. He doubted the men had even noticed his powers.

"How about you come with us? We need a bit more cash and kids sell high in these parts," one of the men – who was missing one of his eyes, Luffy now noticed – told.

Luffy finally found his voice to protest. "NO!"

The men only laughed at his defiance, and proceeded to pick him up and carry him away.  
Luffy watched as Captain Woof dropped onto the dirty ground, all alone now that Luffy couldn't get to him.

"NO! STOP!" Luffy kept shouting, hoping that someone would help him. However, though the street was filled with people, no one seemed to have any interest in what was happening to him.

"CAPTAIN WOOF!" Luffy shouted right as the men were about to turn a corner. To his great surprise, he had just enough time to see someone dressed in white pick up his companion and run towards him.

Then, the next few moments were a blur to him. One moment, he had been carried away by the really bad men, and the next, he was being held comfortably inside someone's arms as the men were all down on the ground.

Luffy blinked a few times, partly expecting something more to happen. He then raised his head to look at the man who was currently holding him. First, he noticed the thick, black hair and the lazy eyes of the man, which slowly turned to look at him. "You alright there, kid?" the man asked.

Luffy blinked a few times before managing a nod. The man then easily maneuvered Luffy onto the ground before he crouched in front of the boy. Even still, the man was unnaturally tall, and Luffy had to crane his neck back to see his face properly.

"This thing," the man then spoke again, and showed Luffy's toy dog, "-is yours, right?"

Luffy quickly grabbed the dog and hugged it close with a wide smile. "Captain Woof!" he exclaimed, causing a tiny smile cross over the man's features.

"It's dangerous here. Where did you come from?" the man then asked.

"I ran away. From the ship," Luffy quickly stated without thinking.

"Ran away?" the man wondered for a moment. "Where are your parents?"

Luffy shook his head. "I don't have any."

The man let out a sound that was something between a sight and a groan. He held his head down for a moment before looking up again and asking the kid, "What's your name?"

"Luffy."

"Okay, Luffy. My name is Kuzan. I'm a marine. I'll take you to the base so we can find-"

"-A marine?!" Luffy cut the man off. His small face was quickly twisted in more fear than he had showed when he had been kidnapped.

"Yeah. You don't have to be scared, I'm one of the good guys," the man tried to explain.

"No!" Luffy then shouted and prepared himself. "I'm not gonna go with someone like you!"

The man raised his hands in defense. "Oi, oi, don't get angry with me. I'm just trying to help you out. The same thing will happen if I let you go by yourself. Here, just come with me," the man told and offered his hand.

Luffy, unsurprisingly didn't agree with the man's plan, and was about to turn around and run before he ground suddenly disappeared from underneath him. It only took him a few moments for him to realize that he was, once again, being taken against his will. "No! You stupid marine!" Luffy shouted. "Let me go!"

The man let out a long sigh and strode ahead. "I wish I could, but my conscience won't let me sleep if I do. Just bare with me. I'm not going to hurt you."

Although the man spoke in a calm manner, Luffy was not at all convinced of his words. He kept struggling against the tight grip that help him against the man's shoulder without avail.

"I don't want to! Not again!" Luffy shouted. "Help me! SHANKS!"

* * *

 **Sorry to leave it there. I'm an awful human being.  
**

 **Question corner:**

 **CMBrockett asked: Do they notify Dragon?**

 **The answer: No. The crew – or almost the whole world for that matter – has no way of contacting the revolutionaries. Dragon is deep in hiding, just like in the canon version. Also, the pirates and revolutionaries are completely different forces and so it is uncommon for them to work together. Shanks would also doubtfully want to contact Dragon as he has no idea what kind of man he is, and what his feelings towards his son are.**

 **Many also asked whether we would be seeing characters like Whitebeard, Dragon and Garp. Like I answered them, I want to keep the story mainly focused on Luffy. The characters might or might not make an appearance depending on what role they would play. But the story is almost all planned out (excluding the ending), and I have a feeling you are going to be surprised with what's coming.**

 _ **Extra note:**_ _ **I noticed that I should have been referring to Benn as "Beckman" instead of "Benn". However, I will keep calling him Benn to keep it more consistent with the earlier chapters.**_

 **Thanks for reading! As always, reviews are appreciated.  
**  
 **Until next time!**


	6. Chapter 5-2 - A change of course

**Sorry to keep you waiting! Here's the second part of chapter 5.**

 **Before anything, I want to say that I wish to dedicate this chapter, and all the chapters to come, to FireofTruth. She is a very strong woman, and I hope that I can keep supporting her through this difficult time in her life.**

 **The question corner is down at the bottom, as usual.**

 **This chapter is paced a little differently, but I hope that it won't seem too rushed to you.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 5-2 - A change of course**_

* * *

It was during the middle of his sentence that a cold feeling ran through him like a knife. It was almost a painful feeling of something being _wrong_ that Shanks wasn't able to shake off.

The red-haired man set down his drink on the table in front of him and studied the feeling inside of him while staring down at his hands.

"What's wrong, captain?" one of the men asked as Shanks had suddenly stopped speaking.

The young captain frowned and was silent for a moment before answering.

"I don't know," he told honestly and suddenly stood up from the bar-chair he had been sitting on. His figure was tense as he stared at something across the room that the others couldn't see.

His first-mate was by his side instantly. "Captain?"

However, Shanks didn't answer his crew-mate. Instead, he kept looking at an empty wall, his frown deepening. "It's just a feeling but... I think that something bad has happened," the man told.

"To Luffy?" Benn asked, causing Shanks' head to whip around to look at him. The young captain didn't answer, but clearly thought about the possibility with dread.

Shanks quickly grabbed his black cape, which he had taken off as they had entered the small bar they were in, and made his way to the exit. Before going out, he told over his shoulder, "I'll be gone for a moment."

Benn followed his captain without question.

The rest of the crew didn't stay quiet for long after their captain had spoken, but continued to chatter in a lively manner. It was clear that they weren't worried about their captain, or they hadn't noticed his sudden change of mood.

The two pirates exited the bar and went out on the dark street. As the two of them walked back towards the ship, Benn noticed that his captain's dark mood was enough to drive away everyone from their way.

"This feeling just won't pass," Shanks suddenly told, his voice low and serious.

"You think it has anything to do with the marines we have seen loitering around here?" Benn asked.

Shanks gritted his teeth before answering. "I don't know. I hope not."

Before the two of them had time to reach the edge of the town, a familiar face appeared. The young pirate was running, and almost didn't notice the two. When he did, he stopped and tried to calm his breathing to tell something.

"You! You were in charge of Luffy!" Shanks noticed before the man had a chance to speak. He grabbed the man's shoulder tightly and shook him once. "Where is he? What happened?" he demanded.

"He-he's-" the man had a hard time forming words between his pants. "-gone. He's gone."

"What do you mean 'gone'?" Shanks snapped.

"I just took a quick nap and I couldn't find him when I woke up! He – he must've got off the ship!" the man explained. It was clear that he was just as panicked as the young captain was.

Shanks let go of the man and turned to Benn. "Go tell the others to look for Luffy around the town as well as the woods. I'll start asking around if anyone has seen a kid," Shanks told the first-mate, who nodded and ran off.

He then turned to his crew-mate left on the scene and somehow managed not to glare at him. "You go back to the ship. We might have to leave quickly, so prepare the ship before we return," he told with a surprisingly calm voice.

The man looked down at his feet, his shoulders hanging low. It was clear he was feeling awful about what had happened. However, Shanks couldn't quite find it in himself to forgive him. Not when Luffy was missing.

* * *

It had taken surprisingly little time to hear about a kid matching Luffy's description when Shanks had started his search for the boy. Benn had joined him just in time to hear about a young boy getting kidnapped by three slave-traders, whom had taken the kid somewhere.

The two pirates took off running at the same second they found out the direction the slave-traders had been heading to. Apparently, the slave-traders also had a ship by the shore, which Shanks had already planned on burning to the ground before he took a turn around a corner. To say the two of them were surprised to find the three kidnappers lying on the ground, unconscious or dead, was an understatement. The pirates just stood there for a moment, blinking, not quite sure what to think.

"If yer looking for that kid, he's not here anymore," a voice suddenly told. The two men turned around to see a man with a belly as if he had eaten three balloons for dinner leaning against a wall and smoking a cigarette.

"Where is he then? And who did this?" Shanks asked.

"It was a marine. He took the kid with 'im," the man explained and pointed his thumb down a road. "Probably at the marine base by now. Ye will find it if ye go down this road."

The two pirates didn't waste any time on staying around. They immediately ran down the road they had been pointed to, not wasting a single second to even question whether the information they had been given was real.

"Captain," Benn began as the two of them kept running side by side, "you don't need me to tell you what you're about to do, right?"

Shanks didn't answer right away and just kept his eyes ahead. His first-mate couldn't see the dark look that crossed his face. "Yeah, I know perfectly well."

* * *

"You stupid, idiot marine!" Luffy kept shouting as he kept kicking the chest of the tall, tanned man. Kuzan stood still as the child fought against his iron grip, barely even noticing the small fists trying to reach his face to hit him.

"So...you picked up that kid...why exactly, sir?" asked one of the two marines who had come to welcome the marine Admiral.

"Yaa, I thought I'd help him out but it seems like he doesn't want help from the marines. Still, I couldn't just leave the kid out there. It's dangerous," Kuzan told matter-of-factly.

The two officers glanced at each other uncertainly. They weren't quite sure how to address such a high ranking person, especially when it looked as if he had kidnapped a child. It was unheard of that an Admiral would bother themselves with a small matter like a lost child when they had the world to worry about.  
"T-then how about we take him off your hands? I'm sure you have other things to worry about, sir," one of the marines offered as the other nodded in agreement.

Kuzan cocked his head away from the small fists that kept flying to his direction. "Well, I wouldn't say I'm exactly busy but-" the man lifted the small boy by the scruff of his shirt and dangled him in front of the two. "-you take care of him. I'm sure he has somewhere to return to."

Luffy glanced at the two marine officers in front of him before he was back in his fighting-mode. He trashed and screamed so loud that the three men had to hold their ears to keep them from bleeding.  
The other officer somehow managed to grab a hold of the angry child and held him awkwardly against his chest, instantly struggling at his new task.

Kuzan waved as he turned to walk away. "See ya, kid." However, just as he was about reach the staircase that would take him back to the ground level, a sound of swords clashing could be heard. There were a few shouts and screams before the three marines could hear the sound of running on the staircase, heading towards them.

"Arara, sounds like you have intruders," Kuzan told without any worry in his voice.

And just like the Admiral had told, two figures soon appeared before them, both holding their weapons out as a warning.

The red-haired man didn't even register who the man standing in front of him was, as his gaze found something much more important. "Luffy!" he shouted, causing the child in the marine officer's arms to finally stop moving.

Luffy slowly turned around to see his best friend, his voice wavering as he managed to utter the man's name back. "Shanks..."

The two officers took a step back in fear. "T-that's "Red-Haired Shanks"!"

Kuzan had his hands inside of his pockets and was leaning back in a lazy manner as he asked, "What is one of the Yonko doing in a place like this?"

Only now did Shanks notice the marine Admiral. "Aokiji, huh? I could ask you the same thing," Shanks spoke, his voice staying calm, yet strong.

"Just passing through," the tall man answered. He then moved his head to the side and glanced at the two marines behind him. "I'm guessing you're here for the kid?"

Shanks' voice got deeper as a warning as he answered, "yeah, I'll have him back now."

Kuzan slowly looked back at the red-haired pirate, clearly thinking about something deeply.

There was a long, pregnant silence as the men in the room waited whether a fight would break out.

Then suddenly, all the tension was gone as Kuzan sighed deeply. "I see there's no other choice." He looked back at the two marines who were still trembling and told, "Oi, let the kid go."

The two marines looked confused for a moment – something Luffy took advantage of and kicked the man holding him so that he was quickly released. Luffy stumbled a bit before he could run while holding Captain Woof with his other hand.

"Shanks!" the boy shouted as he ran past the tall marine Admiral. Shanks had already crouched down to catch Luffy and was soon able to hold the boy in his arms again.

The pirate captain hugged the small boy tightly against him. "Are you okay? You aren't hurt, are you?"

Luffy shook his head against Shanks' shoulder. "I'm okay. Captain Woof was with me," the boy explained as Shanks lifted him up.

Once Luffy had wrapped his arms around Shanks' neck and was sitting comfortably on his arm, Shanks lifted his gaze to meet Kuzan's.

The two stared at each other for a moment, sending each other silent messages. For a long few seconds, the temperature in the room felt colder than before.

Then, Shanks moved, breaking the tense atmosphere. "Come on, let's go back home. We don't have any more business here," he told and turned around to leave. Benn studied Aokiji once more before following his captain out of the building.

Neither of them could hear as Kuzan said to himself, "so, you lived."

* * *

The ship had set sail once the men had all been called back from their search and the new supplies had been carried inside. The sun had already set by that point and the thick clouds covered up all the stars and the moon, making it extremely difficult to navigate away from the island. Still, knowing that the marines were aware of their location made it impossible for the pirates to stay a minute longer. The island was also known – not only for the big slave-trading business – but also as an information gathering spot for bounty hunters. Needless to say, it was far from safe any longer.

The men who weren't needed on the deck had either gone below deck to catch some 'z's, or had gathered in the galley, where Shanks and Luffy where as well.

" _What_ where you _**thinking**_?!" Shanks' angry voice rang through the room. The man stood in the middle of the room, his form almost shaking as he tried to suppress his anger. "I told you to stay on the ship! Why would you take off _**all by yourself**_?" the man kept shouting at the small boy in front of him, whose shoulders had lifted up to his ears by that point. "Do you have any idea what could have happened? Those slave-traders could have sold you off to _**who knows where**_ and had we not found you at the marine base, you might have gone back to being a human test-subject!" Shanks breathed heavily after his outburst as he turned around, running a hand over his face. He had a hard time calming himself down. However, when Luffy's shoulders started to tremble and Shanks could hear the first sobs make their way out, his anger quickly died down.

Luffy lifted his head and wailed loudly the next moment, hugging his plush toy tightly against his chest for comfort. "I'm sorry...!" he cried, his tears forming rivers that ran down his small cheeks.

Shanks could see that Luffy really did repent his actions, but more than that, the boy had been absolutely terrified that day. Raising his voice and scaring the boy did nothing to help him. Shanks felt how Luffy's sad cries broke something inside of him and he couldn't help but get on the ground to hug the boy close to him for the second time that day. He didn't mind that his ears rang or that his shirt got dirtied by snot and tears.  
"I'm just glad you're safe."

* * *

It was the middle of the night that the ship had sailed far enough from the island that the clouds over their heads had disappeared. The deck was illuminated by the light of the moon and the countless of stars that had gathered to make a long belt in the dark sky. In that darkness stood Benn, who was leaning against the railing and watching the night sky in silence.

"Trying to find an angel or something?" a voice asked, waking the man from his thoughts.

Benn looked over his shoulder to see his captain approaching him. He gave the man a wry smile. "No, I doubt anything that pure would ever come close enough to see for men like us."

Shanks laughed and rested his arms against the railing next to his first mate.

"How's Luffy?" Benn asked.

"He fell asleep just now. He's had a tough day."

"You think he'll be okay?"

Shanks closed his eyes for a moment. "Yeah, I think so."

Benn stayed silent as he sensed that the man had something more to say.

"But... I don't think things can go on like this."

Benn kept his eyes on the horizon. "I agree."

"That man, Aokiji..." Shanks started, "I think he knows."

"About Luffy?"

Shanks rested his chin against the palm of his hand. "Yeah. When he looked at me back at the base, he was seeing what my intentions were. He knows how valuable Luffy is."

Benn frowned. "Then, why did he let you take him?"

Shanks shook his head and let his posture fall a bit. "I don't know."

There was a pause before Benn said anything. "If it's true that he knows, we've lost our advantage. The marines know that Luffy is alive and will come after us."

"Yes."

"So, what are we going to do?"

Shanks turned his head to grin at his first-mate. "We're changing our course!"

Benn smiled. "I figured as much. Where are we heading?"

Shanks looked back at the horizon, his smile never fading from his lips. "Luffy can't keep living like this any longer. We've got to take him somewhere he can stay on land and I don't have to worry about supervision all the time. The calmest ocean of them all – East blue. That's where we're going."

"East blue, huh? It's been a while."

"Yeah. But it's our best bet. Marines aren't keeping a tight watch around there."

Benn looked up at the night sky. "A little while back I would never have believed that something as small as a powerless kid could change the course of this ship."

Shanks laughed at Benn's words. "Me either!"

* * *

It was a week after Kuzan had encountered Shanks that he had returned to the marine HQ. It had been a long day, but the man was grateful to see that the sun was finally starting to set as he stood by a window, watching the horizon.

He was in a quiet room along with another man who was sitting on a couch behind him. The man – much older than the Admiral - was holding his head in his hands as a pained expression painted his features.

Kuzan didn't turn to look at the man as he spoke, "I only delivered that information because I happen to owe you a favor. I thought you would want to know."

"I appreciate it," the man spoke quietly, his voice tight. "I didn't think he would be alive. I thought that he had died that day." The old man's voice wavered as he tried to hold back tears. "The worst thing is that somehow, I was relieved. A part of me was happy that Luffy didn't have to suffer anymore."

Kuzan listened silently.

"But of all people to end up with pirates... I'm not sure which fate is worst," the old man continued and sank deeper into his hands.

"If it's any consolation to you, Garp, he looked healthy," Kuzan told, causing the elderly man to raise his head. He turned around to look at the tall man by the window.

"Tell me everything, Kuzan. Did he look scared? Do you think they have been treating him badly?"

Kuzan glanced at Garp's reflection on the window. "To be honest, I think he's better off being with the pirates. The "Red-Hair" seemed to care for him."

Garp rubbed his temple and frowned. "That kid, huh? I never thought that I would feel thankful for anything he does."

Kuzan was silent for a moment. "Should I have tried to take him by force?"

Garp thought about an answer for a while. "No. If you really think he was better off where he is now, then you did the right thing. I've done a terrible thing towards that child. All his father wanted was for him to be able to live free and I was not able to even give him that."

Kuzan gave no consolation for the man.

"Are you going to report him?" Garp then asked.

The air in the room turned tense.

"Yes. Tomorrow," Kuzan answered.  
Garp squeezed the armrest as he swallowed and nodded. "I see."

Kuzan rubbed the back of his head. "I don't particularly want to do it either, but I still work for these people. Even if it's for you, Garp, I can't withhold information like this."

"I understand," the older man told.

And Garp really _did_ understand. After all, he had made that choice five years ago when he had to choose between family and work. He had made the wrong choice back then, and he had regretted it since then. Not a day went by when he didn't think of what Luffy's life could have been like if he had tried harder to protect him. Perhaps, the two of them could have been somewhere right at that moment – training in order to make Luffy into a marine one day. That way Luffy could have stayed safe. Only that way. However, it was far too late for that.

Garp squeezed his fists into balls as he had to face the reality. There was nothing he could do about the past.  
The old man barely even noticed that Kuzan had walked to the door. Without turning around, the tanned man quietly said, "I'll keep an eye on him."

Before Garp could respond, the man was already gone. The Vice-Admiral stared at the door for a moment before a small smile rose to his face. "Thank you, Kuzan."

Garp wondered if maybe, just maybe, things might have been better this way. Whatever fate was waiting for Luffy, at least for now he could see the world beyond the small prison he had been forced to live in.

Maybe like this, he could see a short dream before it would be torn into pieces.

* * *

 **That doesn't sound too good, now does it? Garp is such a pessimist.**

 **I have to say I really enjoyed writing Kuzan. He's such an interesting character. He understands by this point that the WG isn't always right, and he starts to question everything he believes in. However, I wanted to keep things real here and not make him into a really "good" character, but like he is – someone who can't really find a side to fight for.**

 **Question corner:**

 **Son of Whitebeard asked : ****will we see luffy growing up with ussopp who maybe joining his dad?**

 **The answer: No, unfortunately I have not planned on the members of the Strawhat crew making an appearance. However, there is no telling where this story goes, so perhaps we will still see a glimpse of them at some point? Who knows. Usopp won't be joining the Red-Haired Pirates, however.**

 **Some people also asked when Ace and Sabo would be making their appearance. Patience, my friends. To tell you the truth, I had originally planned for their appearance to be around chapter 5, but due to a few events, I decided to leave that for later. Don't worry, we'll get there soonish.**


	7. Chapter 6 - Fight for freedom

**I want to start this chapter off with something important.** **FireofTruth, who I have dedicated these chapters to, sent me a message telling me that her situation was very dire. She had an emergency surgery on this Monday, and she sent me a message where she told me she did not believe she would make it through it. She told me goodbye, and although she was so scared she told me to keep living for her sake as well if she didn't make it.**

 **Please send her your prayers, or thoughts if you do not have a god.  
**

 **This is not me trying to get attention. This is me, telling you that I have made a mistake. I wish I had asked more things about her sooner, just like I wanted to. For now, there is a chance that I only got to know her name when we spoke the last time. Why did I only realize that she was my friend when it was too late for anything?  
I wanted to go see her. I wanted to hear her laugh and see her smile. I hate it that things went this way.**

 **And this is the only thing I can do for her now – continue. She wanted me to go on, to keep writing, so I will. For her.  
I just want to say that I feel so awful right now and I really just wish this was all just a nightmare.**

 **I don't want to get any of you down, but I can't really talk about this to anyone, since I doubt anyone could understand my feelings.  
Please, just take a small moment to think about her, that's all I really ask.**

 **Thank you.**

 **Warnings for this chapter: Blood, death and violence**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 6 - Fight for freedom_**

* * *

It had been one ship at first. It had followed them quietly, it's white sails carrying the dark blue letters that spoke 'enemy' to the Red Hair Pirates.

The pirates were rigid with tension as they waited how the marines would act. It had not been the first time they encountered the men dressed in white uniforms that week, but up until then the ships had sailed behind them, just like this one, as if just looking what they were up to. However, it was clear that the marines would not stay away from them for long. They wanted something.

They wanted Luffy.

Shanks stood at the stern of the ship and kept his eyes on the marine ship. He was joined by little Luffy, who had no sense of danger like the rest of the crew had. The boy kept running around the deck, playing ball by himself as his friend, Captain Woof, watched him from the side.

Luffy stopped when he saw Shanks tense up. He looked at the man curiously and walked next to him. "Shanks?" Luffy asked innocently, cocking his head to the side when he received no immediate reaction from the man.

Shanks swallowed once and gripped the railing he was leaning against harder. His eyes were focused on what he was seeing, and no one could see the way they glinted dangerously. Then, Shanks exhaled and let his tension disappear from his body when he turned to look at the child standing next to him.

"Luffy, could you do me a favor?" the man asked from the child, smiling kindly.

"A favor?" Luffy asked and thought about it for a moment. "Yeah!" he then promised.

Shanks smiled at Luffy and leaned down to pat Luffy's head. "Go to our room for now, okay? It might be a bit scary for a little while, but I'll be there as soon as I can."

Luffy's eyes turned a bit frightful. "Is it another storm?" he asked.

"Yeah, Luffy. It's just a small storm. It'll be over soon, just like usually," Shanks explained, "now go. Take Captain Woof with you."

Luffy smiled. "Okay!" he told and ran off, grabbing his plush toy as he went.

Shanks watched his small back disappear before turning back to look at the horizon behind them.

Now, there was no longer a single ship following them. It had turned to five.

Quickly and silently, the first-mate was by his captain's side once again. "What do you want to do?" Benn asked.

Shanks' tension was back, and his voice was full of anger as he told with a low voice, "we run."

* * *

Unfortunately, the marines had not come unprepared.

Their ships were fast and were able to drive the pirate ship to do zigzags to avoid the cannon fire, making the lone ship sail much slower.

In the end, the Red Haired Pirates were unable to get away from the marines, and an inevitable battle broke out.  
The marines eventually got aboard the ship, one of the marine ships bumping straight into theirs from the side so that the uniformed men could get across.

It was never pleasant to fight on their own ship. To see what had become their home getting destroyed as the blood of strangers as well as their own splattered across the deck where they had just celebrated the night before.

On the deck where Luffy had only just been playing on.

Shanks could feel that as the fight went on, the marines had forgotten why they were there in the first place. They had stopped looking around, trying to find any indication that Luffy was with them, and a strange gleam had appeared in their eyes. Shanks could recognize that gleam. They were excited.

The marines had been able to corner the infamous Red Haired Pirates, who were certainly not far from being the worst criminals now that they had "stolen a chess piece" from the World Government's game. That knowledge caused the young men of the marine troops to lust for fame when they should have simply been looking for a child.

While Shanks was glad the focus had been shifted on him, he could not help but to feel anger and disgust towards the enemy men. And so he raised his swords and fought.

* * *

Luffy knew that the storms in Grand Line could be really strange sometimes. Roo had told him many stories of sea-currents that flew up high in the air – all the way up to the clouds -, and of deadly lightning storms that had almost sunken the ship many times. Luffy had even experienced one very bad storm but it had thankfully passed quickly, unlike the storm he had first experienced.

That's why Luffy had quickly understood that it was not just a storm going on outside of the cabin he was hiding in.

The ship had moved rapidly from one direction to another before there had been a moment of calm. However, that calm quickly became shattered as something hit against the ship, causing Luffy to go flying to the other end of the room as the ship lurched violently. The boy quickly recovered from his fall and was barely able to jump away from the way of a heavy chest heading towards him. The chest hit the spot Luffy had just stood at, making a loud sound whn it collided with the wall.

Luffy sat on the floor and breathed heavily. He stared at the chest that had nearly squished him before he looked out of the window. Only now he saw that the room had become darkened by a shadow. The shadow of a ship right against their own.

Luffy's eyes widened in fear.

"Shanks!" he gasped.

He glanced at the door, wanting desperately to be by the red-haired man's side, but quickly deciding to follow Shanks' orders to stay in the room. The last time he had gone off on his own, he had got himself in big trouble. Luffy really didn't want to go through something as scary as that again. That's why he quickly moved to his usual hiding position – underneath his bed along with a blanket and Captain Woof by his side to protect him.

There had only been a small moment of silence after the crash. Then, the sound of shouts could be heard along with other loud noises. Luffy quickly covered his ears. He wanted to be brave but he couldn't help it when a whimper escaped him.

There was a shout – or maybe a scream - near the door that pierced through the walls more strongly than anything. Luffy knew that sound. He didn't know how – he just did. For a moment, his breathing stopped as tears rose to his eyes. He tried to press his hands to his ears more strongly, but the sounds never disappeared.

"No, no, no!" Luffy said without realizing as he tried to become as small as he was able in his hiding place.  
Strange pictures kept flashing through his head with each loud sound, causing his breath to hitch every single time.

There was red. So much red. And in that sea of red, screams.

Luffy lost himself in his memories for a moment, completely forgetting about the current and living his past once again.  
The sticky red and the still bodies... And in the middle of it all...

The sound of two swords clashing together, followed by loud shouts woke Luffy to the reality.  
Shanks. Shanks had been there, Luffy remembered.

Shanks had seen him and saved him from drowning. Shanks had given him freedom. Shanks had become his friend.  
And now, he was out there – fighting.

"No, not again!" Luffy shouted in anguish. This had all happened before. He had been here, hiding, as his grandpa had been fighting on the deck. And then...

"Don't kill Shanks!" Luffy cried. "I don't want him to be gone too!"

The loud noises outside caused Luffy to flinch as he had taken his hands from his ears and he became even smaller underneath the bed.

His breathing got faster as he imagined all his friends outside on the deck, getting hurt.

"No..!" Luffy cried and curled his hands into fists. He opened his eyes and looked at the floor under him. He was scared. He didn't want to go outside. However, he couldn't deny that a part of him desperately wanted to go.

He looked up to see the closed door and didn't notice how his body started to tremble.

"Shanks...Benn... Yasopp...Roo...everyone is outside," Luffy told to the empty room.

After that, his body seemed to almost move by itself. He crawled from underneath the bed before his bare feet were already moving towards the door. He barely even knew he was even breathing as he felt like he entered a strange bubble where all sounds and thoughts got dulled for a moment.

And then, he opened the door.

The bubble he had been in was instantly popped. Just from the small opening he could see and smell the blood. The sounds became deafeningly loud in an instant, freezing Luffy on his feet. However, he didn't have time to stay shocked as a face appeared in front of him, peeking in. A crazed look came over the unfamiliar man's features and at the very next moment, the door was ripped open and a sword was being posed to Luffy's head.  
It was by some magic that Luffy was able to move his small body forward, escaping the attack meant for him using his size as an advantage as he slipped through the space between the man's legs.

Luffy's body then moved on it's own again, his feet carrying him as far as they could from the evil man. However, it was not only that one man that Luffy had to be careful of. The entire deck was filled with the uniform clad men, as well as his pirate friends.  
Luffy quickly maneuvered himself to hide behind a few barrels in a corner.  
He took the moment of safety to calm his breathing and to look around the deck.  
From the small space in between the barrels Luffy could see what had become of their ship. The floor had become painted red with the sticky blood he had seen before, and over that liquid rested the bodies of many white-dressed men.

Suddenly, the realization hit him. The attackers were _marines._ Luffy's blood went cold. They were there to take _him_ back. They were hurting his friends because of _him._

Luffy tried to hold back his fear. He had to find Shanks. He swallowed once and tried to find the red-haired man in the midst of the battle. Just as Luffy had been about to give up, he saw the man walk across the deck, shouting something as he used his sword to easily throw away a marine.

Luffy admired Shanks' strong figure for a moment before the strong urge to be by the man's side hit him. Without thinking, Luffy stood up and started running towards the center of the deck, carefully trying to avoid any fighting. It was the scariest run Luffy had ever done. Sometimes, someone would bump into him, sending him onto the ground. Then the next moment, the floor was so slippery with the red that Luffy would fall and get his clothes all dyed with the color. Still, Luffy kept moving. He didn't look back, not even when he heard a really disgusting sound of what he guessed to be a sound of someone getting pierced with a sword, or when he heard his name being called. He didn't want to stop now. And he couldn't stop even if he had wanted to as his feet kept moving without any control.

Finally, he was only a little way from Shanks. It was close enough for him to shout his name.

"SHANKS!" Luffy shouted, but the man was unable to hear him. Still, a smile rose to Luffy's face. Soon, everything would be okay again. Shanks would make everything okay again, Luffy once again shouted the man's name and jumped up at the same time. However, at the same time as Luffy saw the man turning, he suddenly felt a strong, sharp feeling on his back. It took a few quick blinks before the pain registered inside Luffy's mind, but by that time he was already falling.

* * *

Shanks had been fully focused on trying to keep the battle even somewhat in control when his eyes had moved to glance at the door to his room. The door that had supposed to be closed and guarded, had now been thrown open so hard that the hinges had broken. The sight of splattered blood on it made the sight so much worse.

Shanks' mind went into overdrive that moment as he tried to talk himself out of the panic that was about to take over him. However, that state of mind caused him to be unable to hear the shout of the small child behind him whom he cared so much about.

However, when the child once again shouted his name, another kind of panic hit the man. He quickly turned around but it was already too late.

In the midst of the chaos and noise, a single sound of a gun being fired rang louder than any other sound in Shanks' ears. That sound caused his world to slow down for a small moment and he was able to see how Luffy's body was falling limply from the air.  
Shanks could only stare in absolute shock as Luffy's small figure fell to the ground and became still.

"Luffy...?" Shanks asked before he could move his body again.

He rushed to the boy's side, his breaths coming out as short gasps by then.

"Luffy?!" he shouted as he pressed his hands against the boy's shoulders, not even registering the damage done to the boy at first. Then, he looked down and saw the hole in the boy's shirt, as well as all the blood covering him.

Shanks' hands shook. They had not done that in at least 6 years. But now, watching the boy he had promised to protect - shot in his arms – they shook once again.

"Luffy..?" Shanks carefully asked as he moved to turn the boy around. He needed to see his face. He needed to know he was alive.

Luffy's head lolled limply against Shanks' arm when he was turned, but instead of seeing open, dead eyes, the young captain was more than relieved to find Luffy's eyes squeezed shut.

Shanks had become completely unaware of the fighting going on around them, but thankfully his first-mate was once again by his side like a shadow, protecting the two from any attackers.  
"Captain! Is that-!?" Benn asked as he kept his back towards the red-haired man, focusing on the attackers.

"It's Luffy," Shanks told, his voice not revealing anything. "He was shot," he continued, his voice wavering slightly. Shanks received no confirmation from Benn whether he had heard his words or not. However, he was too focused the child in front of him to even care.

Luffy's eyes slowly opened to look at the man holding him. His breaths came out quick and pained, but he managed to speak a single name. "Shanks..."

The man nodded and tried to swallow his tears. "I'm here. Don't worry. You're going to be okay," he told, hoping to convince himself as well.

"I'm okay," Luffy told, "I'm with Shanks now," the boy told and managed a smile. Then, his strength seemed to run out as his eyes closed once again, this time with less force than before.

Shanks looked down at the child for a moment before he stood up, carrying the child gently against his chest. His first-mate followed the man with his eyes, sensing that his captain was very unpredictable at that moment.

Shanks was walking away when he stopped and gave Benn a quiet order. "Don't let them leave."

After that, Shanks walked away from the scene to take Luffy somewhere safe.

Benn stared at his captain's back for a moment, partly not believing the orders he had just been given. However, seeing one limp hand of the injured child swaying back and forth behind Shanks' frame made something snap inside of him as well.

Their own had been injured, which was an act the Red Hair Pirates would not be able to tolerate.

* * *

Shanks was able to take Luffy below the deck to the room they used to treat injuries.  
He was solemn as he rested Luffy on his side onto the hard bed in the room and went to close the door behind them, cutting the noise a bit behind them.

He walked to the cupboard and took out a pair of scissors and went back to Luffy's side. He swallowed once, preparing himself mentally before starting to cut the fabric of the boy's shirt. Once the shirt was in half, the man moved the fabric away so he could inspect Luffy's wound.

Except, there was none.

Shanks' eyes widened and he ran to fill a bowl with some bottled water. Quickly grabbing a cloth, the red-haired man once again rushed to Luffy's side to wash away the blood on the boy's skin. What was revealed underneath the red was a small, darkening bruise where a bullet-hole should have been.

Shanks couldn't move for a moment, his heart just hammering inside of his chest in wonderful shock. Luffy was okay.

A tired noise came from the boy, who turned his head to see the man. "Shanks?" the boy asked, taking a moment to focus his sight. "What's wrong?" he asked, rubbing his eyes with his hand, only succeeding in smearing blood from his hand to his face.

Shanks finally felt like he could breathe again. He smiled at the boy and rested his head against Luffy's back for a moment, feeling as if he had just fought a hundred battles. "It's nothing, everything is fine. You're fine."

Luffy hummed tiredly, not really sure what the man was talking about. Then, there was a wet cloth against his face.

"Wait- Shanks!" Luffy tried to protest, but the man didn't listen to him.

Shanks wanted to wash away all the blood on Luffy's body. It didn't belong there. It never should have been there.

The two were silent for a moment, besides the disapproving sounds Luffy kept making, before Shanks spoke in a quiet voice,"I'm sorry, Luffy."

Luffy had sat up by that point and he looked at the man over his shoulder. The young captain kept washing away the last of the blood from Luffy's back, only stopping when the boy winced as his darkening bruise was touched.

"It's my fault you had to go through horrible things like that again," Shanks told.

However, Luffy jumped at his words. "NO!" the boy stood on the bed now, facing the red-haired man. "It's _my_ fault!" Luffy explained, his words starting to waver as he continued, "I came out of the room on my own, even though Shanks said I had to stay there! But, but, I was worried that you would die and be gone like gramps and I was really, really scared so-! So I came out! I'm really, really sorry, Shanks...!" Luffy finished, tears starting to form in his eyes.

Shanks could only look at the boy for a moment. He knew that logically he should have felt angry at the boy – furious even. However, knowing what the boy had already been forced to go through and now having lived it again, Shanks could only find sympathy inside of him.

"You were really scared, weren't you?" Shanks asked with a small smile.

Luffy gave a quick nod and stubbornly tried to keep his tears at bay.

"But you were really brave today, Luffy, " Shanks praised and petted Luffy's head. The boy raised his eyes to look at Shanks, surprised by the treatment he was getting.  
Then, he smiled strongly back at the man and give a single, strong nod.

* * *

When Shanks had been able to coax Luffy to take a well-needed nap, he had once again gone up to the deck, which had long since turned quiet.  
It was no surprise that a massacre greeted him.

There was no longer a marine ship next to them, nor anywhere else in sight. The calm sailing through the peaceful waters as the deck was covered in dead bodies was a bloodcurdling sight, even for a man like Shanks.

Benn was sitting on a crate, smoking a cigarette as the rest of the crew stood around the deck, taking a break after their job was finished.

"How is Luffy?" Benn asked loud enough for all of the men to hear. Shanks had no doubt they all already knew what had happened.

"Barely a scratch on him," Shanks told, shaking his head. "I don't know what kind of miracle it is."

One man stepped forward. "I might know," he started, waiting for his captain's attention to be on him before continuing, "I heard the shot, and I saw it hit. But when it did, the kid's skin suddenly flung the bullet back. Killed the marine instantly. I'd say it's because of his powers."

Shanks stood there for a moment, his mouth slightly open. "His powers? So, his rubber powers protected him?"

Benn answered this time. "It seems like it. I guess we were lucky that it wasn't a sword aimed at you at that time."

Shanks let out a long exhale and ran his hand through his hair. He was silent for a moment, assessing the situation around them. "What are the damages?"

"Some minor leaking on the hull, nothing that can't be fixed. The men received a few broken fingers and gashes, but no serious injuries. No one died."

Shanks nodded, but felt his anger rising inside of him again.

"The marines went too far this time. I have been tolerant of their actions up until this point and tried to avoid unnecessary fighting, but it seems like that won't be enough this time," Shanks explained, his voice low and serious as he spoke to his men. "From here on, if we meet marines, we will show them that we will not run away. We are not scared of men who are willing to torture children for their 'justice'. Are we clear?!" Shanks asked.

The men answered him with a strong shout of "Yes!"

"Now, send these men to their last resting place," Shanks ordered and kept watch as the dead men were sent to the only grave they could provide – the ocean floor.

* * *

They sailed towards the next island they could safely dock at to do proper repairs as the men did whatever they could to the ship.

Some were washing the deck as some were below deck, keeping the leakage at minimum.

The washing was a dirty job, and the stench of blood filled the air no matter how the wind tried to blow it away. Still, Shanks kept watching the men work, knowing that it was his responsibility as a captain. He had given the order and hadn't even been there to dirty his own hands.

As he scanned the area, the broken door to his and Luffy's room catching his eye. It still hung off it's top hinges, the wooden surface now darkened with dark brown stains which had yet to be cleaned.  
It was a moment later that the captain had found tools and cleaning supplies for himself and he was crouching before the door as he tried to figure how to fix the broken wood. The man loosened the last bolts on the bottom hinge and laid the door down on the floor before looking through the tools he had, trying to remember how to fix things. Breaking things came much easier to him, after all.

Shanks only woke from his thoughts when he saw a pair of boots in front of him.

"Unusual to see you doing manual work, Captain," the dark-haired man greeted.

Shanks raised his head to see Benn standing in front of him, holding a heavy-looking log on his shoulder. He grinned sheepishly at the man and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, well, I figured I could do something as well."

Benn put down the log he was carrying and crouched down in front of the other man. "Need any help?" he questioned as the red-haired man once again scratched his head thoughtfully.

"It's just been a while," Shanks replied indirectly and gave short laugh.

"Let me see," Benn offered and moved closer to inspect the damage. He quickly pulled out the tools needed and before Shanks had time to stop him, Benn was already fixing the door.

Shanks sighed and smiled thankfully, soon moving to clean the door instead. They both worked in silence for a while and Shanks found himself drifting into deep thoughts.  
"I wonder if I did the right thing?" the young captain then softly asked. Benn lifted his head and gave the man a questioning look. Noticing that his first-mate had heard his words, Shanks continued. "I mean, by taking Luffy with us. After what happened today, I feel like he would have been better off somewhere else. Maybe then he wouldn't have had to go through such horrible things like today."

Benn took a moment to think before answering bluntly, "Maybe so." That made Shanks' head fall down along with his confidence. "However," Benn continued, "no matter how good his life may have been somewhere else, the World Government would have found him eventually. At least this way he has a chance to fight for his freedom."

Shanks' eyes grew wide at Benn's words, before they melted into a grateful smile. "You're right."

It then took only a small while for the two men to get the door fixed and back to it's rightful place.

The dirty brown was cleaned from all the floors and the walls, and the broken floorboards became replaced with new ones as the sun slowly began to set.  
Once everything basked in the orange light, the ship had finally been changed into its rightful appearance. Their home.

Shanks looked at the faces of his men and found relief in their eyes along with weariness. He knew that mending the ship did not mean that the wounds inside of their hearts would become healed as well, but it worked as a step towards that goal.

And when they all gathered in the galley for a good meal, Shanks already felt that the burden on his shoulders felt a little lighter than before.

* * *

Luffy was sure that his bed had turned into a fluffy cloud when Shanks had tucked him in that evening. Nothing was different with it, he was sure as he had checked the pillow many times. There was still a small drool-stain there on the corner, so it was definitely his. Somehow, his body just seemed to sink into the mattress in a really comfortable way, and even after his long nap, he felt instantly tired again.  
He barely registered how his blanket was pulled up to his shoulders, and that a hand rested on his back silently as his eyes had already closed.

Shanks softly tapped a slow rhythm against his back, and it was only a small moment before Luffy was fast asleep.

The boy didn't even notice that Shanks left his side after a little while. However, when he next woke up, the room was dark and empty.

Luffy pushed himself up to a sitting position and looked around. There was a faint light coming in from outside the window so he could see Shanks' bed on the other side of the room. The red-haired man wasn't there, like he usually was at that hour.

Luffy got slightly curious as to where the man had gone. After waiting for a moment, he heard someone talking loudly. He got up, put on his sandals and grabbed his plush toy so the dog could join his quest. He walked to the door and listened to the conversation going on outside.  
Unfortunately, Luffy couldn't make out the words but he did recognize the voices. It was one of the crew members and Shanks.

Knowing that his best friend was just outside, Luffy cracked open the door to peek.  
The small smile that he had on his face quickly melted away when he finally heard what the two were talking about.

"Captain, to tell you the truth, this isn't what I signed up for," the dark-haired youth told Shanks, looking uncomfortable. "I enjoy the pirate life, but this is going too far!"

"Because of Luffy?" Shanks asked, his voice not revealing anything, allowing the younger man to continue.

"I've got nothing against the kid, but having the World Government on my ass because of him is not right," the man explained. "I had to kill seven men today because of that kid and I just thought.. if this is how things are gonna be from now on, I'm not cut out for it," the man told, clearly quite nervous about voicing his own thoughts.

Luffy stood there, shivering now, and stayed silent.

The young man shook his head and threw his hands out. "Why did you save that kid anyways?! Why did you let him stay if he's just gonna get us all killed?! If you'd just given him to the marines, none of this would have happened!" the man was shouting by this point, clearly angry. "And it's not just me – there are others who feel the same way."

Luffy was holding back his tears by that point and hugged Captain Woof close against his chest. He looked at Shanks, waiting for him to say something to deny the man's words.

However, when Shanks only answered by a calm, "I see," Luffy quickly turned around and ran back inside the room. He jumped into his bed and hid deeply underneath the blanket with his fluffy friend. Luffy could hear the two men talking for a while longer, but he couldn't make out the words from where he was. He did, however, understand what they were talking about, somehow.

Because he wanted to be a pirate, Shanks was troubled. He was a nuisance to the man. Because he was with them, the others couldn't live like they usually did. Luffy couldn't hold in his tears when he wondered if Yasopp, Roo and Benn felt the same way as the dark-haired man outside. Maybe they wanted to get rid of him?  
A horrible thought then hit Luffy – maybe Shanks wanted him gone as well? Maybe Shanks would give him away to the marines, just like the man had said?

Luffy couldn't help when a loud wail broke free from him, joined by several others that he couldn't control.

It was in seconds that the door was opened and the red-haired man had run inside. "Luffy!?" he asked, his voice panicked and filled with worry. He was by Luffy's bed in an instant and was pulling the boy closer to him before turning him around so he could see his face.

"Luffy? Luffy! Calm down, what's wrong?" Shanks asked, trying to get something out of the hysterical boy. Luffy kept crying, unable to form any kind of words.

"Did you see a bad dream?" Shanks tried again, desperately wanting to know what was going on with the boy. Seeing him crying so loudly one could think the boy had just lost an arm was starting to scare him.

Luffy managed to shake his head and form a few words. "Shanks is – Shanks is-!"  
The man tried to rub Luffy's arm to comfort him. "I'm here!" he reassured. "Calm down, Luffy, tell me what's wrong."

Luffy tried to take a few deep breaths with little success but managed to look at the man in the eyes. "You... you're going to – to give me away!" Luffy cried.

"Give you away? Wha-?" Shanks began to ask, but remembered the conversation he had just had outside. Suddenly, it all made sense to him.

Once he had calmed his own feelings, a small smile rose to the man's face. He ruffled Luffy's hair softly and leaned in a bit closer. "I see, so you heard us talking?"

Luffy's wails had quieted into soft sobs by that point and he nodded. "He didn't want me here," the boy said.

Shanks shook his head. "No, Luffy, that's not true," he told with a smile. "He was just scared."

Luffy opened his eyes and looked at the red-haired man silently, waiting for an explanation.

"Just like you are sometimes, we all get scared."

Luffy's brows furrowed. "Even Shanks?"

The man's smile widened. "Even me. I was really scared just today," he admitted.

Luffy's eyes went big. "You were?"

The man nodded. "Yeah. When you suddenly came out of nowhere and got hurt, I was more scared than I have been in a very long time."

"But why?" Luffy questioned, his tears starting to dry.

"That's just how it works, Anchor. You get scared if someone tries to hurt your friends," Shanks explained.

Luffy averted his eyes at the word "friends", still not used to someone calling him that. Suddenly, an angry look appeared on the boy's face and he pushed Shanks away from him. The same sadness the man had seen before returned to the boy's eyes as they stared back at him.

"But I don't want Shanks to get hurt!" the boy shouted. When Shanks couldn't find any words to say, Luffy continued, "I don't really know why the marines want me to go back, but I don't want anyone to get hurt because of it!" He tried to hold back his resurfacing tears. "I don't need to be a pirate anymore so..." Luffy's explanation cut off as he sobbed, "so Shanks should send me away!"

Shanks was silent for a moment, just listening to the boy's cries. A part of him wanted to hug the boy but the part of him that wanted to talk sense into him was stronger. "Luffy," Shanks started, his voice steady and serious, causing the boy's attention to be on him instantly. "You said once that you wanted to be free, right?"

Luffy nodded sadly.

"Today, the reason we fought was for your dream," the man explained. "We all wanted to protect that dream of yours."

Luffy looked confused. "But why?"

Shanks only found a simple answer to that. "Because we are "nakama". All of us have dreams, just like you, and we have fought many times to protect those dreams."

Luffy kept listening silently.

"The you right now is too weak to fight on your own. That's why all of us helped you. As long as you keep dreaming, we will help you to get there. You see what I mean, Luffy?" Shanks asked, earning a hesitant head shake.

Shanks put his hands on Luffy's shoulders and looked deeply into the boy's eyes. "That means that you can never ask me to give you away again, okay?"

Luffy stared back at Shanks, unsure what to say.

"I won't lie – more scary things will keep on happening from now. But as long as you are fighting for your dream, we will continue to do so as well. You aren't wrong, Luffy."

Luffy looked away from the man silently. "But... like this, I can never be free," the boy spoke quietly.

Smile found its way back to Shanks' face. "Everyone can be free. Especially pirates. That's why you wanted to become like us, right?"

Luffy nodded but quickly turned to look at the red-haired man again. "But now you're being chased as well! What if you get caught too?!" Luffy asked, worried.

Shanks couldn't hold in a laugh. "We are _pirates_! We are always running from the marines. If we were scared to get caught, we shouldn't be pirates, now should we!"

Luffy was finally able to give a small smile. "I think... after all, I want to be a pirate," he told. "I want to be more free than anyone! I don't want to be afraid of anyone, ever!"

"More free than anyone, huh?" Shanks asked. "There's only one man who has been able to reach that dream to this day," he told, his mind filling with fond memories.

The bright eyes that stared back at him suddenly reminded Shanks of his former captain. "Who was it?!" Luffy asked excitedly.

That same excitement, accompanied by pride, rose from somewhere deep inside of Shanks as he told, "the man who conquered all the seas and attained all the wealth in the world." Without knowing it, Shanks then began a story that would forever change Luffy's life, "let me tell you about 'The Pirate King'..."

* * *

 **If you are wondering why Shanks isn't using the Conqueror's/Haoshoku Haki, I find it a bit too convenient as a power. However, I think that in a situation like what we saw today, it's likely Shanks would use his power if he had good control over it.** **So I will just say that the 26 year old Shanks isn't yet able to control his powers so well that he could use it in a battle situation where his men are mixed in with the enemies.** **I honestly just don't like the frequent use of Conqueror's/Haoshoku Haki in stories, it kills powerful moments like we saw in this chapter.**

 **Question corner:**

 **Ghost-Air asked: Will Luffy meet Akainu?**

 **Answer:** **I have not planned on it for now, but the idea is interesting. Perhaps one day.**

 **Also, to cheer you guys up, you know which two lovable characters will be making an appearance next chapter? Yeah they will! Good job on staying patient.**


	8. Chapter 7 - The two thieves of Dawn Isl

**An update to speed up spring! A long one at that!  
My computer broke (I know, classic), and for a long time I was afraid that my hard-drive was destroyed as well. Thankfully, my brother was able to retrieve my files and I somehow managed to write a new chapter using this old, stupid tablet. Lovely.**

 **My updates will still not be freguent for some time, as I am still studying for my exams. Hopefully, I could get another chapter out before June, at least.**

 **Since it's been a while, here's a little recap of the events that have happened until now:**

 **Luffy's father, the revolutionary leader Dragon, asked his own father Garp to take care of his child. However, Garp was unable to protect Luffy's identity, and so, Luffy was captured. For his first five years, he was not only being used as a piece in politics, but also as a test subject for the Devil's Fruit experiments. It all changed when Garp took him out to the sea, where an encounter with pirates sunk the marine ship. Luffy was rescued by the opposite side, and came to travel with the Red Hair Pirates, led by Shanks.  
Luffy formed a deep bond with Shanks, and continued to grow with the pirates, learning how to live freely for the first time in his life.  
However, when it was found out by the marines that he hadn't actually died, his freedom is once again in danger. Making a choice, Shanks changed the course of the ship away from Grand-Line towards the East Blue.  
**

 **Now on to the story! I'm not 100% happy with the chapter, but I'll make sure to tell you if I come back to it and edit a few things.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 7 - The two thieves of Dawn Island**_

* * *

The air was moist and heavy with rain that had gone on for a whole day. The drops of water kept pouring down without any sign of stopping, creating a dull song as they hit the flowers and the leaves in the forest. It was only during those days that even a dangerous place like Midway Forest was silent and calm. Only a few frogs were jumping around, making sounds as if they were laughing at everyone else.  
In that silence, a pair of dark eyes stared intently from a bush – resembling a cat preparing to strike. It was in an instant that the calm broke as a small figure jumped out of hiding, raising a weapon while giving a shout.  
The steel pipe connected with the head of a slumbering giant crocodile, giving it no chance to fight back before it was sent to its death.  
The assailant – only a small boy – panted hard as the tension finally broke and his task had become completed. He wiped his brow of the water that kept getting into his eyes, leaving behind a trail of mud.  
Then, the silence fell once more. The boy stared blankly at the dead animal in front of him, his soft features revealing no emotion. He walked in front of it and - as if it weighted nothing – started to easily drag the creature away, never letting go of the old pipe he had used to take a life.

He kept walking for a long time in that quiet forest, never stopping. It was only when he reached a big tree that he finally halted and called out a name.  
It was only a moment later that another child appeared, peeking out of the shelter the tree had naturally created. The child was a blonde boy, and when a smile rose to his face you could see one of his upper front teeth missing. "Ace!" the boy called as he waved his arm in the air as a greeting.  
The boy called Ace did not share the other one's enthusiasm, quietly walking to the boy's direction to get shelter from the rain. "I brought us food," were the only words he offered to his blonde companion.

"It's a big one! Good job!" the blonde boy praised as he peeked at the dead crocodile.  
The other boy walked to a chest from which he pulled out a towel. He started drying his black, wavy hair and his mud-covered body. The only thing he could not get out were the small freckles on his face. "Did you gather enough stuff to sell?" the boy asked.

The blonde turned around and wore a proud smile. "Yeah, I did! I ran around all day and I found pretty good stuff!" he told, but his smile suddenly faded away.

"What happened?" the boy called "Ace" asked, knowing that there was something left unsaid.

"The thing is, the gates got closed. They were afraid the terminal would start flooding inside the city so they won't open them until the rain stops."  
The humorless look on the raven-haired boy's face turned into anger at those words. "They closed it?! Those bastards...!" he swore and closed his fist tightly.

The blonde tried to calm his friend, "now, now, it's nothing to be surprised about. This sort of thing happens all the time."

"Sabo, you're being too calm about this! Where are we going to sell all the stuff now?" Ace asked impatiently.

The blonde – Sabo – smiled back. "It's a bit of a walk, but there's that village over the other side of Mt. Corvo, right? If we go there-"

"-let's go then," Ace interrupted and stood up, ready to leave.

Sabo jumped back. "Wait- now?" he asked, confused. "You just came back! Shouldn't you rest? Or eat?"

But the freckled boy already stood outside. "If we want to earn anything today, we need to go now. Come on."

The blonde sighed and quickly grabbed his own rusty pipe as well as the big bag he had been collecting metal parts (among with other things) into before following Ace.

The two made the hour long challenging journey through the mountainous area, until they were once again on steady ground near the village. The rain had thankfully stopped by that point, but the lack of sun gave no help to dry their wet clothes which clung onto their skins.  
They dragged their feet to the village center and were just about to start forming a plan when something caught their eye.

"What the hell is that?!" Sabo shouted as he noticed the large ship at the port. It would have been a normal sight, had the ships figurehead not been shaped like a dragon, and were the flag some other color than black. But it wasn't.

"Pirates," Ace breathed in realization. He whipped his head around to see if anything suspicious was going on. Were the people getting robbed? Murdered? However, Ace only saw a lady walking her daughter, and a man sitting on a porch, watching the ocean in silence, not bothered by the sight of the pirate ship in the least.

The two boys shared a look of confusion before the sound of loud laughter filled their ears. The sound of a group of men laughing. Ace gave a determined look to Sabo, who understood it instantly. They were too curious not to investigate.

They ran to the tavern where the sound was coming from and peeked inside from a window. They stared in a sort of awe at the armed men, who were drinking and celebrating like there was no tomorrow. The way they dressed and spoke, it all told the two children what they already knew.

"They are pirates. Real pirates," Sabo spoke his thoughts and couldn't tear his eyes off them. "Free men."

Ace didn't answer the other. He was too focused. His mind was full of questions. What were these people like? What kind of places had they been to? Why were they pirates? Were they trying to find the One Piece, or maybe they just wanted to be-? His thoughts were only interrupted when he felt a tug on his sleeve.

"Come on, Ace, let's go! We shouldn't be here!" Sabo told and tried to get the other to leave. Ace only shrugged him off. "I get it, I get it.." he sighed and was about to move to follow his blonde friend when something caught his eye. He looked back inside to see one of the pirates wearing a straw-hat on his bright red hair lift up a kid much younger than himself, and throw him in the air – earning joyful laughter from the kid. Ace absentmindedly thought why the pirates would have a kid around them, but quickly brushed off the thought. He turned and left, but something in his chest kept nagging him to go back.

* * *

Once he and Sabo had finished their task for the day and had gathered some earnings, they were ready to head home. They already had the sun setting behind their backs as they walked towards the hills when Ace stopped.

Sabo turned around to look at the other. "What's wrong, Ace?"

They other didn't answer at first, but then blurted in a hurry, "I'll be back in a second!" and ran back to the village in a hurry. Sabo was left behind, confused, and unsure whether he should follow Ace or not.

Ace wasn't thinking about his friend at all when he ran back towards the tavern. Something kept pulling him back there. Whether it was just curiosity or something else, he didn't know, but he just had to see the pirates even if just once more. He was so focused in getting to the window that he didn't even notice the two figures standing outside before it was too late and the men spotted him. It was the man with the straw-hat and a really tall man with a big weapon – whatever it was.

The two looked down at the boy in surprise as Ace had abruptly stopped in front of them and frozen.

"What is it, kid? Never seen pirates before?" The red-haired man questioned, but his voice carried no signs of danger. He was just relaxing against the wall of the tavern, apparently feeling content looking at the sunset. Ace took a cautious step back nonetheless.

"No, I'm pretty sure he was sneaking around here earlier today," the tall man pointed out before Ace could bring himself to answer. The comment made a shiver run through his body. The guy had noticed him?

"Oh," the red-haired man said and cocked his head a little, "so you were just curious then, huh, kid?"

"I'm not a kid!" Ace blurted out before he could stop himself. He quickly clasped a hand onto his mouth, but it was too late. The words were out already.  
Ace was pretty sure that these guys were seriously strong. He could sort of... feel it. If they wanted to, he would be dead in a second. However, that didn't happen. Instead, the red-haired man laughed at his answer.  
"Oh? The way I see it, you're still a brat!"

Ace bit his tongue so he wouldn't say anything back. He didn't feel like dying yet. "You.." he began, "if you're pirates, then you know about "The Pirate King"?" he asked cautiously.

They raised an eyebrow before the red-haired man laughed again. "We're pirates, of course we know about him!"

Ace looked down at the ground, preparing himself mentally both to run and ask the question he always wanted to ask if he ever saw pirates. "What if... what if he had a child?" He looked up to see the pirates reaction, which turned out to be surprise.

"A child... you ask?" the man with the straw-hat asked. A large smile then spread on his face. "Then I would share a drink with him one day if we would meet at the sea," he told and laughed, lifting the glass he was holding.

"Meet at the sea?" Ace asked.

The man nodded. "No way that kid wouldn't become a pirate, after all! That blood is too strong to fight!" he told with a laugh.  
Ace stared at the man in confusion. He hadn't ridiculed the pirate king. He hadn't told that his child would be a devil. This man hadn't said anything like he had heard before. The confusion written on Ace's face made the pirate more curious.

"It's a strange thing to ask," the red-haired man pointed out. "What's your name, kid?"

Ace was woken back to the reality at the question. "I'm..." he hesitated to answer. These people were not to be trusted, he knew that.

"No?" the man asked and gave a short sigh. "Then.. do you want to be a pirate?"

Ace was taken back by the question. He looked at the man with wide eyes, not even realizing how hopeful he looked. Then, he realized that it wasn't, in fact, an invitation, but just a question. He let his head drop back down before letting out a whisper, "I just want to be free."

Before the red-haired man could question him any further, Ace took off running again.

* * *

"Where the hell did you go!?" Sabo questioned angrily as he tried to keep up with Ace's quick pace. The other had suddenly come back, but had not stopped to give an explanation about anything that he had been up to, even when Sabo kept asking him for the umpteenth time.

Having had enough, Sabo stopped and shouted Ace's name sharply. The other stopped this time, knowing that an explanation was necessary if they ever wanted to get back to their hideout.

Ace didn't turn around as he told, "I saw the pirates."

"The pirates?!" Sabo shouted, "and you didn't think you should tell me about it? Those guys are dangerous!"

Ace didn't say anything for a good fifteen seconds. "I… I think I have a plan to get us out of here."

"Huh?" Sabo was unable to follow his friend's train of thought. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Ace turned around and let Sabo see the troubled look on his face. He tried to look for the right words, but hesitated. Sabo kept waiting for the words to emerge, but they never did. Instead, Ace looked back at the village they had just come from and frowned. "Let's not talk here. I'll tell you when we get back." That was the only answer Sabo got, but it would have to do.

They walked back in silence, the night falling over them as they finally reached the forest hours later.  
They lit a fire, cooked a large piece of the crocodile for themselves and settled into a more comfortable silence before it was finally broken by Ace.

"We'll get on that pirate ship and leave." It came out with frightening confidence, causing a shiver to go down Sabo's spine. Ace had decided on this all by himself.

"W-what the hell are you talking about?! Those guys aren't some merchants! They will kill us when they notice!"

Ace flashed his determined eyes at his friend, showing that he was being serious. "We'll hide, then run when we get the chance."

Sabo shook his head. "You've gone crazy! There's no way that'll work."

Ace leaned closer, his figure tense. "It will."

"Why would it?!" Sabo was sure they were fighting now.

"Because!" Ace started, then snapped his mouth shut and looked away. Sabo frowned and waited for an answer.

"Because… they weren't like the others."

"How so?" Sabo questioned. The lack of shouting made their voices sound more like whispers now.

Ace glanced at something on his left, but Sabo knew there was nothing there.

"They had a kid with them."

"A kid?"

Ace nodded. "Yeah, younger than us."

"It wasn't one of the kids from the village?"

"No, I don't think so."

Sabo frowned. "So…what? You think that they would let us on based on that? That kid might just be an exception. Maybe they're using him somehow?"

Ace shook his head. "No, that kid was.. he wasn't there against his will."

There was a heavy sigh. "Ace, I know you want to leave here, but this doesn't really seem like a good idea."

Ace's hard eyes were back. "Then what do you suggest?!" And the shouting was back again.

"I say we wait! We get older and keep collecting treasure so we can get our own ship and leave!"

"We don't have that sort of time!"

"Why not!?" They were both shaking with anger.

"They're coming after you! I heard it! They know you're here, Sabo!"

A silence fell over them again.

"I know that much," Sabo told quietly, and that was it. Neither of them spoke for some time. They just stared at the flames in front of them and kept thinking.

It was an insane idea, they both knew it. Pirates were crazy people. They had been around the Gray Terminal for long enough to have seen Porchemy and the other Bluejam pirates several times and the encounters were never pleasant. They killed and stole from the weak, wreaking havoc wherever they went. That's who pirates were. Monsters, killers, thieves.

Still, despite knowing all that, Ace still believed in the men he had seen that day.

"Let's do it." It was unexpected that Sabo was the one who voiced those thoughts. Ace's head snapped into his direction, his eyes wide with surprise.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, let's see where this goes. It's better than having to go back there," Sabo told, his voice not quite as strong as Ace's. However, it was enough to bring a smile to the other's face.

"We can do it. As long as we aren't here."

Sabo nodded, and the two went on planning their great escape in detail.

* * *

When tomorrow came, the two were already ready. They had everything figured out, and now it was just how they could carry it out.

Firstly, they needed information. They needed to know how the ship looked like inside, where they could hide and when the pirates were leaving. If they knew that, they could prepare.

Then the supplies. They needed their treasure with them, both for safety and hopefully for their future. If they were found, they could use their gold to negotiate with the pirates to let them live. If not, it was good to have some money with them. In addition, they needed food for several weeks if they were to be able to hide for a long period of time.

And with that, the two left for the village again that morning.

They snuck to the bar where Ace had seen the pirates last, and stood by the small window outside. Taking a peek inside, they could see unfamiliar men eating breakfast in a relaxed manner, although there was no doubt they belonged to the pirate crew. The sight made Sabo's chest feel a little less tight than before. Perhaps they really had a chance at this?

They met each other's eyes and gave a nod. Time to move with their plan. Sabo peeked at the door and tried to see if any of the men were leaving back to their ship so he could follow them. That way he might get some more information about them.

Just as the doors were opening and Sabo was preparing himself to signal Ace to get ready, a voice of a child startled him. "And, and it was really cool! Yasopp hit it right in the middle! It was so far too!" the child explained loudly, and Sabo found himself staring at the figure of a small child in the arms of a red-haired man walking towards the bar.

The bar door opened, and a pirate walked outside to see the pair coming his way. "G'morning captain!" he greeted the man. The words caused a shiver to go down Sabo's spine. A captain? This man was the captain of the pirates? He couldn't tear his eyes away from the man as he lifted his gaze from the small boy in his arms towards the man at the door, revealing his face from underneath the brim of his straw-hat. The split second Sabo could only see the scruff beard and the big, black cape on the man's back made his blood go cold for a moment. He sensed the power coming from the man. He was strong. Killing two stowaways wouldn't be a problem for him. But then he flashed that carefree smile towards one of his own. It hid down many things, Sabo was sure, but it was a genuine smile. He cared for his men. He cared for his own. And it was just that small interaction that made Sabo sure of it.

Feeling a bit dazed, Sabo was unable to pursue the man who had left the bar, his thoughts occupied by the strange pirate captain.

"He's the captain?" Ace suddenly whispered by Sabo's ear, and the blonde turned to find the other crouching right beside of him, certainly having seen what he had.

"Yeah, I think he is.."

The two of them quietly moved back to the window, their curiosity winning over their plans.

They watched as the room suddenly woke up into cheers and laughter, as the pirates respected their captain that morning. The red-haired man responded to his men with the same energy, but never let go of the boy in his arms.

"Is that the kid?" Sabo asked.

"Yeah, that's him." They both had their eyes fixed on the small kid, who had closed his chatty mouth once the two had entered and was now looking at the men curiously from where he sat.

"Could he be…his kid or something?" Sabo wondered, now as sure as Ace that the kid was with the pirates, and wasn't there against his will.

"I don't know. Looks like it."

Sabo thought about it for a moment. "That's pretty weird."

Ace answered with a nod, too concentrated on what was in front of him to voice his thoughts.

There was something… warm, almost, in the way the pirates acted. They were like a family, strangely. Not like the families in High Town, but the normal kinds of families they would see in the village. They cared for each other. It was clear they were different from the Bluejam pirates, although the two couldn't understand why.

"Someone's leaving!" Sabo told and quickly ducked into his previous hiding place where he could easily see where the man was going. Ace followed after Sabo, even when he sneaked out of hiding to take cover behind another building, although a part of him wanted to keep looking inside the bar. There was something about the red-haired man that rubbed him the wrong way. He didn't know what it was, but he just wanted to keep studying the captain for a little longer.

"There it is!" Sabo whispered loudly once they had reached the harbor. Ace finally woke from his thoughts to see the wooden dragon on the pirate ship that stood tall in the small harbor, and found himself a little breathless. He had seen it before but… it was a real pirate ship.

"That's where we'll go. We'll definitely get inside," Ace told, but it was clear by the way his voice shook that he was nervous. There were real pirates there, not just some idiots swinging swords around. These people had probably killed and robbed plenty in their time.

Sabo studied Ace. "Are you sure about this?"

The two looked at each other and thought it through once more. They could die if they tried this. Still…

"Yes. Let's do it."

With that, they began their day spying on the pirates. They listened in to their conversations from far and near, hiding wherever they could so they wouldn't be discovered. It wasn't simple work, and by the end of the day, they were exhausted. They sat in a safe spot at the edge of the village and ate whatever little food they had brought with them.

"It's no good," Sabo sighed. "They didn't walk about anything interesting. Just something about some bandits and about the best ale they'd had."

"Same here," Ace confessed. "Nothing useful. They didn't seem to be in any hurry to leave this place."

Sabo cocked his head after taking a bite of his meat piece he had brought with him. "But they did seem a bit cautious of the marines. I guess it's nothing unusual, but I just thought it was weird."

"You're reading too deep into it," Ace told and leaned back against the wall behind them. "Maybe we just need to call it a day?" he wondered and let a yawn escape him.

Sabo frowned, but eventually had to agree. "It's going to be late soon, too."

Before they could finish their break and leave, there was a sudden commotion. People were running and shouting something, and were running towards the center of the village. The two boys were instantly alert again.

"Could it be the pirates!?" Sabo asked, coming to the most logical explanation he could find.

"No way!" Ace instantly defended. "They aren't like that! There's no way!" he told and took off running towards where everyone the commotion was.

"Wait! Ace!" Sabo ran after his friend, hoping that they weren't making a big mistake.

* * *

It turned out, Ace was right. It wasn't the pirates making trouble. It was some mountain bandits, who had come down to bully the villagers. The two of them stood in the crowd, watching frozen as the bandit punched a child, sending him flying.

When an elderly man tried to stop the ugly bandit, a gun was pointed in his direction, stopping all his efforts.

The kid was definitely their target, the two of them recognized, as the leader of the bandits went to pick the injured boy up by his neck, chocking him in the process.

"Ace!" Sabo then whispered, "It's that kid! It's the kid who was with the pirates!"

And like usual, Sabo was right. It was that kid. Had he done something to upset the bandits? Or where they just showing "a pirate" their place?  
They heard the kid struggling to say something, then, the bandit threw him to the ground and kicked his head, letting his foot stay on him. The kid had pissed him off. "He's going to die like this.." Sabo said in dismay, never having seen a kid being treated in such way.

One of the bandits showed something to the leader, a piece of paper, and the look on the man's face changed. He laughed and lifted the boy up by his shirt and examined his face.

"Looks like you're right," the leader told and gave an insane laugh. "What easy money! The marines have finally lost it!"

Then, the kid spoke again. "APOLOGIZE!" he shouted, despite his throat having clearly taken damage before. Ace and Sabo twitched. Was the kid insane? The one who should have been apologizing was him, if he wanted to get away with his life.

"I've had it with you," the bandit spoke between his gritted teeth and moved his hand to the boy's throat again. "I'll cut your tongue the next time you say a word." It wasn't an empty threat.

Just when they thought that things couldn't get worse, the kid forced the same word out again. Ace and Sabo gritted their teeth. This was it. The kid was going to get it.

"I told you to shut your mouth!" The man shouted and threw the kid towards his men. "Hold him down, I'll see if he'll feel more obedient with one less eye or ear." The leader pulled out his sword and pointed it at the kid. However, before he could continue, there was a voice.

"I was wondering where everyone had gone to. So here you are, Luffy."

They all looked towards the direction of the voice to find the red-haired man standing there with a relaxed smile on his face. However, there was some dark feeling in those dark eyes that were focused on the mountain bandits. Somehow, seeing him made the two boy's feel much better.

"So, it was you bandits from back then who were making this ruckus," the captain spoke, no apparent worry in his voice.

"Still in this village, I see, pirate," the bandit greeted, but there was definite hostility in his tone. "Have you been mopping all the floors in the village all this time?"

The pirate wouldn't listen, but interrupted the bandit before he finished, not even addressing him. "Luffy, how are you so good at getting into trouble? Maybe you should try to train that 'punch as strong as a pistol' a little?" it was a tease, but also a way to try to keep the boy from feeling more scared.

"I don't know what you want, but you'd better beat it before you get hurt," the bandit warned, but the pirate kept walking closer to them. "If you come any closer, you'll get your head blown off, you coward." And true to his word, a gun appeared to the pirates head by one of his men.

The pirate stopped and listened as the bandit with the gun gave the same threat as the leader had. Like before the pirate showed no signs of hearing, and just stood there.

"I don't know what business you have with this kid, but you better back off. We know who he is, this little shit," the leader warned and tapped the kid (who was called "Luffy" by the captain) on the cheek with his blade, making the boy flinch. Sabo and Ace exchanged looks at that. They knew there was more to the kid than that if he traveled with the pirates.

"He's got a bounty on his head. Hella big one too, for someone so tiny." Sabo and Ace froze. A bounty? The kid couldn't have been more than five! What the hell had he done to upset the marines?

"Now, I couldn't think of why, at first," the bandit explained, "but then I remembered reading about it some time ago. He's got some shitty luck, this one." He looked down at the child glaring at him and sneered, "being born as the son of the worst criminal in this world."

The words resounded deep within Ace. He had grown up hearing those words. They had always been aimed at him. Like his existence itself was a sin. His father had been the worst criminal in the world, and all of his bad deeds had now been transferred onto him. It wasn't fair. He didn't even know who his dad had been, yet he hated him more than anyone living. Was this Luffy kid the same?

"Just because of that, he's gonna live a lousy life in some prison sell, to make sure he won't follow in his father's footsteps. Ain't that something, being the son of the revolutionary leader, Dragon." The leader kept rambling. "We'll they're probably right if he's hanging around with these shitty pirates already at this age. He'll be rotten to his core by the time he's ten."

The kid – Luffy – moved again, trying to get closer to the bandit who insulted him and the captain. "Don't talk that way about Shanks! He's not a coward, or rotten! APOLOGIZE!"

Before the bandit leader had time to strike the boy again, the pirate captain called Shanks, moved and spoke. He pointed at the weapon aimed at him and warned that it was no toy. "If you point it at someone, you have to be prepared to stake your life."

Those were the last words that man would hear, as a fat pirate with googles on appeared at his captain's side and shot the man point-blank range. He fell down, dead, instantly.

The crowd around them ran in fear of the sudden escalation of events, but Sabo and Ace's feet remained glued to the ground. "They went and did it!

They killed him!" one of the bandits yelled. Another one shouted, "you dirty bastards!"

"Dirty?" a pirate asked back. "Don't be stupid. Did you think you were fighting saints?" another added.

The captain then spoke, and his words resounded inside the two boys stronger than anyone else's, "the men who stand in front of you are pirates."  
A bandit protested at this, saying that they didn't have any business with them in the first place, but the captain continued. "Listen here, bandits. You can throw food or drinks on me, even spit on me, and I'll usually just laugh it off." Then, his tone changed completely. "However, no matter what reason you may have, I will never allow anyone to hurt my friends." The expression he wore was nothing the two boys had seen before. It was full of fury and rage, and the carefree person from before was long gone. This man was going to murder these bandits soon.

It was the bandit's own stupidity for not realizing the same thing.

"You pathetic pirates! Men, kill them!" he ordered.

The next moment they witnessed how a dark-haired tall pirate took out all the bandits single-handedly. They were at a completely different level from the bandits. These were real pirates.

The words the dark-haired pirate told were frightening, but absolutely cool as he pointed his weapon at the last bandit – the leader. "If you want to fight us, you'd better bring a warship."

Finally realizing the situation he was in, the bandit finally realized that he'd better try to save his own ass. So what came out of his sorry mouth was, "the kid was the one who started it!" As expected of a weak, pathetic man.

"There's a bounty on your head as well, isn't there?" the captain threatened, and was unable to read as far ahead as what the bandit would do next.

There was a curse, then the bandit threw something onto the ground and everything was covered in smoke.

When the smoke finally faded, both the bandit and the boy were gone. The bandit had run off with the kid, determined to get his money one way or another.

They had expected the pirate captain to become furious and order his men to find the man, but instead, all the cool they had seen before was suddenly all gone. The man called Shanks suddenly freaked out, shouting in panic at how he let Luffy be taken away and kept asking what he should do.

Sabo and Ace could only blink slowly at the sudden development, unsure what had just happened. Then, realizing how in open they were, they quickly scurried to hide behind a house, but kept a keen eye on the pirates. They split to find the boy called Luffy, and somehow, the two felt like helping. Just a little.

However, their future came first, and for that reason they needed to stay hidden. The pirates would find the stupid bandit anyway.

* * *

The day slowly turned to dusk, and they boy still wasn't found. The pirates were still running around, high and wide, making it very difficult for Ace and Sabo to stay hidden. Once they had found a calm spot for a change, they took the moment to finally talk.

"'You think he's dead? That kid, I mean," Sabo wondered. "It's been pretty long."

"I don't know." Ace wasn't even sure if he cared. The kid might just be better off dead with the stuff hanging over his head. Just like him.

There was suddenly an increasing sound of a child's wails, and Sabo took a small peek at the road next to them. "Maybe that's him?"

Ace took a notice to the sound too, but said nothing.

"Should we go and see?" Sabo asked, his voice revealing his curiosity. Ace looked at him with an annoyed expression for a moment before standing up.

They didn't really have anything better to do.

They walked towards the sound, which turned out to be the shoreline, and were able to find a small fishing shack to hide behind at a safe distance. They could make out the figures of at least fifteen pirates, all gathered around something, which they expected to be the kid, as his cries could still be heard from the direction of the group. However, as the pirates moved around, some running back towards the village, the real truth was revealed.

Sure, the kid was there, crying his eyes out as one pirate had crouched next to him, trying to comfort him. But everyone's focus was on the figure sitting on the sand in the middle of it all. It was the captain.

It was him but… he was missing his arm. It was gone.

"W-what the hell happened?" Ace asked. "He's so strong so… why is his arm gone?" Sabo had no answer to his question. He just kept staring at the same scene, unsure how he was supposed to feel.

The two watched as the man was given first aid, and what appeared to be strong alcohol to numb his pain, as the kid never stopped crying.  
He never stopped, because it was his fault, they realized. "He gave his arm for a little kid like that?" Ace asked, slight anger in his voice.

"Ace?"

"That kid isn't even supposed to be alive so why…?! Why would he go so far for him?!"

Sabo stayed quiet as he knew what Ace was actually talking about. He couldn't understand why anyone would protect an existence like his. A person born with sin.

They watched for a very long time, and even as the sun disappeared into the horizon, having painted the sun red for long enough, they didn't move. The pirate pressed his hat on the small boy's head and asked him to come closer once he had gotten the treatment he could. And after what had felt like hours, the boy's cries finally ended as he was being pressed against the man's chest again. They were all just happy that the kid was alive. The pirates helped their captain on his feet, and the two boy's took it as the sign to leave.

Sky turned dark by the time they had reached the edge of the village and the day's events had turned into mere memories in their head. However, it was undeniable that something had changed in them that day.

"We'll get on that ship," Ace told one again, his tone filled with a new confidence. Sabo wasn't exactly sure what was going on inside the other's head, but he felt a little relieved that their plan remained unchanged.

"Yeah, we'll get there. For sure."

* * *

 **Yayy, finally Sabo and Ace are here!  
Also, don't kill me because of what happened to Shanks. There is a reason for me wanting to keep some events canon. You'll see.  
Next chapter will help you understand better what happened between the time we saw Shanks and everyone last, but I felt like this order was the best to introduce the boys into the story.  
Also, they're about 9 here.**

 **Question corner:**

 **Wizard Alchemist asked:** **Will Luffy ever meet Whitebeard?**

 **The answer: We might be seeing Whitebeard later, yes.**

 **But yeah, the most of you were just curious about when Sabo and Ace would come in the picture. So you have your answer!**

 **Until next time!**


	9. Chapter 8 - Strength and Power

**Here we are again! Sorry that it took so long, I had a bit of a writer's block going on. I ended up writing this chapter in two days after deleting all that I had been working with before. It might seem a little rushed, and I apologize for that.**

 **Now, an important announcement:  I didn't get into any school this year, which is why I will be taking a leap to the unknown. I will be leaving to Japan on the first of September and continue to Australia from there on the fourth. I will return next spring and it is impossible to say when I can continue this story again. Maybe during the trip, maybe long after. Who knows. **

**With that, I want to thank you for your continued support.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 8 - Strength and Power**_

* * *

A breeze softer than a child's breath glided over the blood red village, basking in the last light of the evening. Silence had fallen over them like a soft blanket draped over them all, reminding of the peace that was soon to come with the darkness. In that quiet serenity, a puff of smoke rose softly in the air from a quiet man. He stood his back against a wall, staring out at the red sea and its gentle waves, the colors reflecting from his dark eyes. And next to him stood his captain, whose side he hadn't left for days. His captain, whose hair seemed to turn into flames as the red from the sun met his. His captain, who was now without his other arm. Benn had questioned it over and over again, both inside his head and audibly; why had the man sacrificed so much? The answer was far too simple for him and he felt hate towards himself for understanding it far too well.

" _It was a cheap price to pay to keep him safe."_

But what of his own life? What would this mean for him? Benn had not had the courage to ask. He glanced at his captain and felt a surge of admiration course through him – the man's eyes showed nothing but peace and acceptance. Shanks was not a foolish man and Benn knew the man had thought of the hardships he would come to face from now on. Yet, there was no fear in him.

Benn took a drag of his cigarette and let out another puff of smoke.

The sun was setting.

There was a small presence behind the corner of the bar that Benn recognized. No one dangerous, he knew. Merely a curious child that they had seen before. Benn looked over to his captain to quietly question what should be done when the man moved.

"Nature calls!" Shanks told and walked off.

Benn stayed behind, musing over the fact that his captain had turned into a child-magnet as he felt the small presence move to follow the man.

Shanks walked up a small hill and sat down in the open to watch the sunset from a higher ground. He stretched his only arm that he still had, and reminded himself not to scratch the healing wound although it was irritating him.

He felt the child's presence nearby and decided to lay down and close his eyes. He waited patiently, letting the grass tickle his skin and the sun to warm him for a moment longer before his little friend finally made a move.

The child walked closer and closer, until he was at a talking distance. Shanks opened his other eye and pretended to only now notice the child.

"You're the kid from the other day," Shanks addressed the boy, making him flinch a little. "What's your business with me?" It was only to tease him when he used a strong tone to intimidate the boy a little, but it was not enough to seal his mouth.

"I...I wanna know!" the boy started, "why did you protect that kid? You're strong, aren't you? Why didn't you just let him drown and die?!" The words were angry, and it took a moment for Shanks to understand why.

A child who had not known of love would not be able to even recognize it when he saw it.

"You're talking about Luffy? You saw us then?" Shanks pushed himself up to sit and saw the child take a cautious step back.

"Luffy is my friend, you see," Shanks explained, "it's only normal to want to save a friend from danger."

Confusion flickered in the stormy eyes of the child.

"But... you lost your arm."

Shanks offered the same answer he had given to all who had questioned his actions. "It was a cheap price to pay."

"He's just a weak kid! You're a pirate!" the boy shouted, his words reflecting his own experiences. "Why do you care about him?"

Shanks thought about the question for a moment, watching the sun disappear below the horizon to create only a thin golden belt in the distance. He thought about Luffy, the small child that had appeared in his life all of sudden with his smiles and innocence. About how he was the only one who could keep the child safe from going back to his former life in captivity, and how he wanted to protect Luffy's dreams until he was strong enough to do it for himself. His thoughts drifted to the moment he had jumped in to rescue Luffy, and how the thoughts of his own well-being had left him completely in that moment. He would have done it for any of his friends, but Luffy was the only one who needed that protection.

In the end, Shanks didn't have an answer.

"Who knows? There's just something in him that makes others want to help him."

The child was quiet for a while. "What's with that?" he then muttered. Shanks could tell that the child wouldn't pry any longer.

The man gave a low chuckle before leaning back, reminding himself once again that he could no longer support himself with his left arm. He looked at the freckled child again and wondered if he would give his name this time if he asked. Not wanting to pry or scare the kid away, Shanks decided against it.

"I heard he's the son of a devil," the boy suddenly spoke. Shanks raised his brows at that, but listened on as the child continued. "I heard he's got a bounty because his father is a criminal. He's not even supposed to be alive in the first place so... why don't you just get rid of him?"

It dawned on Shanks then. He had had a feeling about the kid before, but now he knew for certain. He hid this knowledge behind a well-managed mask as he thought of an answer.

"Who his father is doesn't matter, nor the things he has done. Luffy isn't guilty of anything, especially not of his father's actions."

The child averted his eyes but Shanks could see the storm raging in them.

And just like that, the boy was gone again.

* * *

They had all retired to their ship and had gathered on the deck after a good meal. The stars were already out and the sea brought a slight chill.

Shanks looked down at the child sleeping on his lap, brushing a few remaining tears from his round cheeks. Luffy had been upset every day, and could not stop crying whenever he saw Shanks and his missing arm. It was not the first evening Luffy cried himself to sleep and Shanks had doubts it would be the last.

Shanks' thoughts drifted in the calm evening.

They had been through much during the almost 7 months that had passed since they had decided to leave Grand-Line. It had not only been a stressful time for Luffy, but for the crew as well. They hadn't ever experienced the feeling of being hunted, but with the marines constantly on their tail, they had barely had time to breathe. They had all suffered, physically and mentally with the constant need to look over their shoulders. And when they had finally reached safe waters, another bomb dropped on them when Luffy's bounty was announced.

It seemed the World Government had deemed that while they still needed him, Luffy was the living proof of what they did behind hidden doors and as such, Luffy was a danger to them all. And so the bounty stated as such: Alive: 100,000,000 Belly, Dead: 60,000,000 Belly. It was a never seen before bounty, and so the world was quickly in uproar about the "Devil's Son". Luffy was painted as a dangerous criminal, his blood being tainted with his father's blood. The entire world was against him.

It sickened Shanks to no end that an innocent, weak child like Luffy would have to go through something like it, and although they tried to shield him from the truth as much as they could, Luffy always knew there was something wrong.

So they kept hiding away, waiting and hoping for the worst to pass. And so they found themselves in Fooshia village.

The Village had provided them shelter and a place to calm their souls after all they had gone through, and with the kind lady's help at the bar, Luffy was able to open up to a stranger the first time after coming to their ship.

The days had been filled with laughter and joy - sounds Shanks had almost forgotten with how quiet the crew had grown with the weariness weighting them down.

Shanks looked up as a blanket was gently drawn over Luffy's sleeping figure and saw one of his most trusted crew members. Yasopp looked down at Luffy with such soft eyes that Shanks could hardly recognize the man. He thanked the man with a nod and followed him with his gaze as Yasopp sat down next to him.

"'e's a good kid," Yasopp said.

"Yeah."

"Makes me think of my own boy."

Shanks didn't say anything, just watching his friend go through his memories.

"Probably grown up a lot. I only saw 'im when 'e was a baby."

"Ever wish you had chosen differently?" Shanks asked, knowing that the man would understand what he meant.

Yasopp shook his head. "Naw, I was meant to be a pirate. This is the life for me."

Shanks nodded and stroked Luffy's hair.

"'e'll get over it, eventually." Shanks had to meet Yasopp's eyes to know what he meant.

"I'm sure he will. It's just hard for Luffy to see me like this when he thinks it's his fault somehow."

Yasopp was silent for a while. "You know, it's not just him."

Shanks shifted his gaze to Yasopp.

"It's hard for all of us," the sniper explained, his eyes hard. "There are people who don' know if you're still fit to be a captain."  
Shanks felt a rush of emotions go through him which he didn't have a chance to hide. Yasopp lifted his hands as if to defend himself.

"Not talkin' about all of us. Just sayin' that you might want to talk to the fellows to show them that things haven't changed."

"I'll talk to them later."

There was a small moment of silence between them before Yasopp excused himself to join the others across the deck. Shanks' attention was drawn to the child on his lap as Luffy shifted himself to a more comfortable position. Shanks readjusted the blanket again and listened to the soft mumbles before Benn joined him.

"Evening, captain," the man greeted and offered Shanks a drink.

Shanks thanked him and took a sip of the ale.

"How's the arm?"

Shanks stared down at the liquid in his cup. "Better," he answered honestly, then added sheepishly, "not sure if I can get used to this missing feeling though."

Benn studied his captain for a moment. Shanks couldn't quite tell what the man was thinking about. Then, the look was gone and the atmosphere turned lighter once again.

"You'll be fine." It wasn't an encouragement, it was a fact. The blind faith Benn put on him caught Shanks off guard for only a moment.

"Yeah, I think so." A fond smile spread on Shanks' face as he looked at Luffy's sleeping face.

"He'll be okay, too," Benn reassured, earning a soft laugh from his captain.

"Yasopp said the same thing just now." There was a small change in his eyes as worry mixed in. "I'm not sure if it's that simple."

Sensing that there was a matter of importance to talk about, Benn moved to sit in front of his captain.

Their eyes met.

"Things like this will keep happening. I will keep getting hurt, and so will all of you. It comes with the life." Shanks' fingers glided over his new injury unconsciously. "I can't keep him with me at all times."

Benn pretended to be thoughtful for a moment before a smirk pushed through. "Then maybe find someone who can," he suggested.

"What are you talking about?"

Benn cocked his head towards the island. "That kid, why don't you take him with us?"

Shanks' eyes flew wide open. "What?! You must be kidding!"

The dark-haired man put a finger to his lips to remind his captain not to shout as Luffy was sleeping. Thankfully, Luffy remained asleep - all too used to the rowdy pirates by then.

"Luffy could use a friend of his own age. Children grow up that way. Besides, it's not like you haven't broken your own principles before." Benn pointed at Luffy with his eyes.

Shanks gave an exasperated sigh. "That and this are different!" He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a breath to calm himself. "I can't risk another kid's life. It's hard enough to have Luffy's life on my shoulders."

Benn shrugged and waved his hand. "Whatever you say, captain."

However, Benn knew he had succeeded in planting a seed in the man's mind as he saw the troubled look on his face.

Benn wasn't a cruel man. He knew that he wouldn't be responsible for taking a child from his home and dragging him with them to the sea. He had seen the boy's eyes. He didn't have a safe place to return to. It was obvious what kind of life he was living. His senses were sharp and his clothes were dirty. It was safe to say that he had to provide for himself to survive. And for a child to go through that... the boy was far from being a child anymore. He was strong, and knew what he wanted. A better life.

What harm could be done if they gave him a little taste of his dream?

* * *

His skin hurt all over.

From underneath his bandages, angry red skin peeked out, never letting Ace forget about the fire he had just come out of. That - and the constant pain he felt as he ran through the trees, the slightest touch of the branches and greenery flaring up another burnt area.

He felt like keeling over. His injuries needed to heal - the screaming pain was enough for him to know that much - but stopping wasn't an option. He would push through, Ace told himself. He needed to.

He silently cursed himself for what he was about to do. How it all came to this, he wasn't sure, but his messed up head seemed to find an even more messed up solution to it all. Ace felt like laughing.

For the first time in his life, he desperately wanted something. Or more like, wanted something back.

The first person who had made life bearable. The first person who had made it all a little more worthwhile. The first person who had seen him for who he is.

" **Damn it all!** " Ace roared into the forest. He couldn't stop his tears.

He kept running until his bare feet bled - his shoes hadn't been in the state to be ever worn again - and until his lungs couldn't take in any more air. Only then he stopped. Only when he could see that ship again.

In that darkness right before dawn he sucked in the air, and shouted with all his remaining strength: " **Hey! Pirate! I need your help!** " His small body was thankfully able to produce a loud enough sound to awaken the sleeping pirates, and soon tired faces appeared on the deck to see what the shouting was about.

It was only when the pirate that had been on the watch dropped down on the deck and stared at Ace with a sharp, hawk-like gaze, that Ace felt a cold run down his spine. His adrenaline was starting to dissipate and only now could he realize who he was talking to again. These men were seriously strong. He stood no chance against them. He swallowed hard and stood his ground, reminding himself why he was there.

The watch dropped onto the dock with as much ease as when he had dropped down from the crow's nest. Had he been just a normal human his legs would've been broken by then. The man approached Ace slowly, studying him for a moment without a word. Ace had to fight his urge to run.

"What's with you, brat?" the man asked. He wasn't being exactly threatening, but there was a tone to his voice that told Ace to select his words carefully.

"I...I want to see your captain," Ace told, trying to keep his voice steady.

"The captain? Not going to happen."

Ace hadn't thought about his plan all the way through. Of course they wouldn't let him see the man in the middle of the night. Just when he was about to ask again a voice called from the deck, "let him come up."

Ace recognized the man. He was always with the captain. With how the watch immediately listened, Ace was sure the man held a high status in the crew.

He was guided up to the deck and there, taken to the side to avoid the curious eyes of the other crew members. The dark-haired man dismissed the watch and turned to Ace.

"So, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?" The words were sharp but somehow Ace felt more safe with this man. He couldn't see him murdering children without a reason.

"I need to see your captain," Ace repeated.

The man crossed his arms. "If it were that easy, we would all be dead by now."

Of course it wasn't that simple. However, Ace was far from ready to walk away.

"My friend was taken. I can't save him by myself." It was all Ace could manage to tell, both because he felt too intimidated to say anything else and due to his exhaustion.

The man stared at him for almost a minute before moving. He looked over to the other pirates and called the name of one of them. "Take a look at him."

Ace opened his mouth to protest, knowing that the man was referring to medical attention, but his mouth quickly shut when the man stared hard at him, telling him to "sit down."

So he did.

Ace watched as the man left. The medic came and Ace tried not to think about how he wanted to kick the man for touching him. The last hostile thought left him once a salve was put on his burns and all the pain he had felt melted away for at least a moment.

He felt so exhausted that he hadn't even noticed when the man had returned. He had apparently lost consciousness for a moment as he woke up to someone tapping his cheek. His eyes flew open to find the dark-haired man crouching next to him. Ace leaned away for him in an instinct.

The man pointed at something behind him. "He's here."

And surely enough, there was the red-haired man once again. Ace jumped to his feet, wincing when his wounds protested against the moment. The man's hair was sticking up in every direction and he couldn't stifle a yawn. Straight out of bed then, Ace thought.

"So," the man spoke, "what are you here for?" When their eyes met, Ace felt wide awake again. Although the man's guard was down, Ace could see in those eyes that he was far from harmless.

"My friend," Ace started and cleared his voice, "he was taken. I can't get him back on my own."

The man sat down and told something to a nearby crew member. The man left somewhere.

"Taken where?"

"The high town."

"By whom?"

"The nobles."

The man's eyes narrowed. "By the nobles? What do they want with him?"

"They're... his parents."

"So he's the son of a noble who was taken back home?"

Ace gritted his teeth. It sounded completely wrong. "Yes." He wanted to argue, but he felt a pressure not to say anything unnecessary.

The man who had went to fetch something earlier returned with three cups. He offered two for the man before giving one to Ace. He took it and smelled the liquid inside. Odorless. Water? Ace looked up at the red-haired captain and couldn't deny that he jumped a little when a pair of big eyes appeared behind the man, peeking at him curiously. He hadn't even noticed the kid was there. The man offered the boy a cup and brushed his hair as the boy drank. Ace stared at the two intently as he dared to follow the boy's lead and drink.

The captain's eyes drifted back to him again. "Doesn't sound like he's in danger." Ace almost felt angry before he saw that it wasn't anything but a statement. It was a suggestion to tell him more. Ace felt thankful for how much better his throat felt when he had drank.

"They aren't good people. They're holding him against his will! Even if he went willingly that doesn't mean-"

"-he went willingly?" the man cut him off, his tone a little more sharp than before.

"He had no choice! They were about to kill me!" Ace shouted, regretting it instantly. He settled back, trying to hold himself together. Getting killed there wouldn't accomplish anything.

He flashed back to the moment he had been pushed down onto the ground, unable to move a finger as Sabo was taken away from him. He had begged for Bluejam not to hurt him, the idiot, and told his father he would do anything he wanted if only Ace stayed safe. Ace had felt so sick and angry. Still did. He had watched Sabo walk away, knowing that there was no way to help him.

"I see," the captain told. "So what do you want from me?"

Ace knew that it all came down to this moment. He had to do his best or there was no way Sabo would ever be free again. He realized that he had never realized how much was at stake until that moment. He felt angry at himself when he felt tears rising again as he thought about his friend - his _only_ friend - and he threw his head to the floor both to hide them and to beg. Pride be damned.

"Please help him. I'm too **weak**!" he sobbed, "he- Sabo, only wanted to be free. I can't live with knowing that I'm the reason he can never become a pirate. While I'm here, that he's stuck in that _**hell**_ -" Ace couldn't talk any longer. He pushed his lips together and willed himself to stop being so pathetic.

From where he was, he couldn't see the captain's troubled look. "Even if you say that, they're still his parents. I can't just rob a kid from their home, no matter what the situation is-"

Ace lifted his head, his anger radiating through his teary eyes. "They aren't parents! They're all **monsters**!"

When the man only narrowed his eyes, Ace continued. "They set that fire in Gray Terminal! You saw it too, didn't you? They burned everything there was! The houses, the people...!"

Ace could see a shift in the man's eyes.

"I did see that fire," the man told, "but I don't have any knowledge of what happened there. Tell me everything."

And so Ace did. He dried his eyes and explained how after Sabo had been taken, he had helped to carry cargo to Gray Terminal in exchange of his freedom. He told that it had been later revealed to him that the cargo contained oil and gunpowder, and that the nobles had tricked them all. That they wanted to burn all the trash that was Gray Terminal. Ace told that there were people living there in the midst of all trash, salvaging what they could to live, and that he had listened to their screams as they were trapped in the sea of fire.

The man listened to him quietly but Ace could tell he was angry, although he concealed it well.

"And that's why I'm here. So that he doesn't have to live with those disgusting people."

The man sank back a little. Ace watched as the big-eyed kid sneaked under the man's arm to give him a hug. The man's features relaxed and a smile rose to his lips when he watched the kid. He lifted the boy to his lap easily despite his injury and made sure he was sat there comfortably. Ace's eyes met with the boy's for a brief moment but Ace averted his eyes from him quickly. Something about him rubbed Ace the wrong way.

"I want to help you," the man started, making Ace sit up straight. "But there isn't much I can do. As you know, I'm a pirate. What do you think would happen if I went and threatened nobles?"

Ace pushed his lips together. "But you're strong! You can just kill all of them-"

"-it doesn't work that way." The pirate looked angry at him for even suggesting that. "Nobles have connections to the marines. Due to situations, we cannot afford to get caught," Ace didn't miss how the man tightened his hold on the boy on his lap. "-and definitely not for the sake of saving a kid we don't have anything to do with."

Before Ace could say anything else, the man continued, "And say we did get him out without incident. What then? You're children. The same thing will happen all over again eventually."

Ace felt a rush of anger go through him. It was true. All of it. They were still too weak to fight against the power of the nobles. The fact was infuriating.

Before he had even thought about his words, they slipped out. "Then take us with you."

He could hear the men around them shift, murmur and sucking in breath at the suggestion. It was absolutely crazy, Ace knew. There was no way they would ever go for it.

A laugh broke the tension in the air. The captain was laughing loudly, the boy having to hold onto the man as to not tumble down from his lap. "A kid like you? No way. I have no use for two weaklings."

It was a justified thing to say, Ace knew. But something inside of him snapped at those words. He couldn't control himself. He had been a crazy idiot ever since he had been separated from Sabo, but this took the cake. He found himself flying in the air, jumping to attack the man, and briefly wondered when he saw the amused eyes of the pirate if this was where he was going to die.

The next moment he found himself on the floor, face to face with the dark-haired man. In a split second he had thrown Ace onto the ground and had a hand around his throat. It was only a warning - the grip was loose - but it was enough to scare the hell out of Ace. The man had been too far. Ace had seen him leaning against the railing! He had moved way too quickly to follow.

"Had enough? We will take you on anytime," the captain told.

Ace had to take a moment before he managed a nod. The hand was removed, but the dark-haired man stayed right next to him. It wouldn't matter where he was, Ace thought bitterly, he was nowhere strong enough to lift a finger to do anything.

Ace stared at his feet as he sat up. This was it. He screwed up everything. Now he would not only lose Sabo but his life as well.

He missed the way the boy on the captain's lap stared at him and the way he looked up at the red-haired man pleadingly. He also missed the silent conversation the captain had with his first-mate, and how the dark-haired man raised his brows and shrugged. What he didn't miss was how the red-haired man gave a deep sigh in defeat. He lifted his head, not sure what to expect.

"Alright, I will give you a chance." Certainly not that.

"What?" Ace asked, not following with the sudden development.

"Find me an opening for me when we can get him out without drawing too much attention. We'll drop you off here once it's safe. What you do after that is up to you."

Ace couldn't believe his ears. "You're serious?"

The man smirked. "Yeah. Now, you want to save your friend, don't you? Find us that opening. And don't get into trouble."

Ace was in a state for a moment before the words registered. He jumped to his feet, and for the first time in his life he said an honest thank you.

The man only waved him off. Ace didn't wait for a second longer and was off the ship before anyone could tell him otherwise.

His feet felt lighter than before, even though the pain had returned. He ran faster through the woods as the sun peeked out from behind the horizon, and let a smile rise to his face. This was it - he could save Sabo.

With this, they could both become free.

Sleep had taken him before Ace could even begin to form a rescue plan, and he had no other choice but to let his body rest until the day had passed. He awoke during the night and was surprised to find that a meal had been left for him to eat when he was able. With renewed energy, Ace felt instantly better and was able to leave for an investigation.

He went to their hideout first and gathered their things in the tree house so that they could leave in a moments notice if it came down to it. It wasn't much - some clothes, some money and treasure and a few important objects they had managed to salvage from Gray Terminal. He packed them in a single bag they owned and left it to the hideout. He would get it later when he returned from High Town.

Ace used his usual route - only remembering the horrible happenings from only days ago when the burnt smell reached his nose and he could see what had once been familiar burnt to ash. He had to stop for a moment to convince himself that the black-burnt earth had once been a place of exploration and joy for them. People had lived here, perhaps it hadn't been an ideal life, but they had still been alive. Had a place to call home. Now, it was all gone. In a matter of a moment, due to the whims of the nobles, their lives were ruined. Because of them _his_ life was about to be ruined. Ace reminded himself of his mission - he wouldn't let it end there. Sabo would get his freedom. Both of them would.

With determination burning inside of him, he tried to ignore how hot the earth felt underneath his feet, and how the deep black color painted his body as he walked towards the Great Gate.

It hadn't been easy, but Ace did manage to slip inside Edge Town when the gate was used briefly. With the night falling it was easy to hide in the empty streets and so getting closer to the High Town wasn't a real problem. The problem was getting _into_ High Town. With the high walls and a well-guarded single gate, getting in was proving to be impossible. Ace knew that he would never pass for a noble, and not even he was as agile as to be able to climb the wall. He spent a good four hours trying to find a loose brick or anything he could use, but it was proving to be quite useless. He had already thought about some crazy ideas how he might get in but he knew that the pirate wouldn't help if it brought attention. So, Ace decided to find an opening elsewhere. If only he could find a way to get a message to Sabo, there was a chance. If Sabo could distract his parents for just a moment, they could get far enough for the pirates to help them. It wasn't the best plan, but it was all he had. However, that changed when he stuck around until morning came.

The days news was circulated by newspapers, but also by fliers that were thrown around. Ace picked one up and saw what the fuss was all about. He read the title, but could not understand what it meant. He read further and for his surprise - found his opening.

"All citizens to gather in port by midday to greet the visitors-" it said. Ace didn't have to read further to know that this was everything he needed. With all the nobles gathered in one place, Ace could sneak in the midst of them and grab Sabo! Whoever these important people were, the nobles would surely be too focused on them to notice a single child missing.

With the fliers tightly in his grasp, Ace took off running back to the gates so he could inform the pirates.

The thundering in his heart kept going even as he grabbed the bag from their hideout and said goodbye to the tree house - knowing that this might be the last time he would see it- and ran back to the bandits' house. He needed everything he could get from them - be it food or other supplies. However, his excitement quickly turned to a very different kind of feeling once he reached his destination.

"What the hell is this?" Ace muttered only a moment later, a letter held in his grasp.

"It was delivered this morning!" Dogra explained.

"That's **not** what I'm asking!" Ace shouted. Dogra flinched at Ace's outburst. "I'm asking what the **hell** this means!"

Dogra tried to explain that he hadn't even seen the contents of the letter and so it was impossible for him to know, but Ace was out before he could hear it.

His heart was racing, but he noticed that he was standing in crossroads. Go back to the town and try to find Sabo before he left by himself, or go to the pirates and try to get their help?

Ace cursed, his mind not working with the pressure of time on his shoulders. Eventually, he did what he always did - followed his gut and took off running, never looking back at the people who had cared for him since he was a baby.

He pushed through the pirates, not even pausing to think it could land him with a sword in his side, and ran to the deck. By sheer luck, the captain was outside and Ace was able to run up to him.

"I need your help," he told and tried to catch his breath.

The captain eyed him. "I thought I told you to find us an opening."

"I did! But-" he swallowed. "he's leaving!"

"Leaving? How?"

"I don't know!" Ace almost shouted. "But we need to stop him! He plans to set sail alone today! I don't- I can't let that happen."

The man looked thoughtful for a moment, then turned to get something from the top of a crate. Ace saw it was a newspaper even before an article was opened up for him. There was a picture of a strange-looking man in some sort of costume.

"Did you know about this?" the man questioned.

Ace was confused for a moment before he remembered the flier he had with him. "I read about it today. What of it?"

The pirate gave a sigh and rubbed his temple. "These people are the most powerful people in this world. They are what we call "The World Nobles". Due to their heritage, they have the power of the world on their side."

"They're that strong!?" Ace asked.

"Not _them_ , but they do command all the marines, and the power of the World Government. Those people are the ones who we will have a problem with."

Ace frowned. "So you can't go because you're scared?"

The pirate looked a bit troubled. "Not exactly. But we'd rather avoid being seen by them. We haven't exactly been in their favor lately. I'm sorry about your friend but-"

"-But what!? You're just going to give up!?" Ace exploded, all care of his own well-being momentarily forgotten. "You haven't even tried!"

The captain was about to say something, but couldn't as Ace hadn't said the last word.

"He's my only friend! If he leaves like this, I will be alone!" Ace hadn't even realized his words before they came bursting out of his mouth. However, as much as the reality pained him, it also struck a chord within the pirate. The man stared at him intently for a moment, creating a tense silence, before he turned around to give orders to the crew.

Ace stood in a sort of daze, once again feeling strange as he hadn't lost his head, and only realized that the ship was about to depart when the ropes were unfastened. And it was only when the ship had left the small port that Ace realized that he had started something there was no coming back from.

And there it was, the biggest ship Ace had ever seen. The pirate ship seemed tiny in comparison to the ship that carried what the pirate captain had called "The World Nobles", and Ace had no doubt that the big sail that carried the four-pointed symbol could envelop their ship easily had they had a chance to try it.

The pirates decided that they needed to stay in hiding for as long as they could, and so they had found a safe spot for them a little way from the port. From there, they could see most of the events that took place. The people were celebrating with bright colors and flamboyant clothing (Ace had gotten the chance to see through the telescope to see the details), and you could faintly hear music coming from the port. Everything seemed to go perfectly, but Ace could feel the tension in the air coming from the pirates. They could see something that he wasn't able to, but he didn't dare to ask.

"A small boat is leaving from the port," the dark-haired man reported as he looked through the telescope. He handed the device to the captain, who confirmed it.

"Boy, remind me, what's the name of your friend?" the man suddenly asked.

"Sabo," Ace quickly responded.

The man was quiet for a moment and let the telescope fall. His eyes were fixed on the horizon. "This might be bad."

Ace was just about to ask when there was a sound of a cannon being fired. Ace felt his blood run cold. He couldn't hear the captain shouting orders, nothing but the sound of his blood flowing to his head reached him. His eyes slowly lifted to the scene that was quickly moving closer.

The grand ship in the empty waters, and next to it what had once been a small boat, now engulfed in flames. He didn't need to be a genius to figure out what was going on.

" **SABO!** " Ace shouted from the top of his lungs, and almost went over the railing with the force he slammed into it. Even with full speed, the ship seemed to be moving too slowly. Ace needed to get there _now._ Sabo was there - in the flames - all alone. Sabo had been fired at. Because Ace hadn't been there. Because he hadn't been able to protect Sabo. He had been too weak - he was always too weak. Even now- "DAMN IT!" Ace shouted and pounded his fists against the wood. He kept going until there was a strong grip on his arm. He didn't look up for a moment - the blood in his head blinding him of everything - but once he was able to, he saw the stern look of the dark-haired pirate. Before Ace could even begin to feel remorse and fear, the man told, "we'll save him."

They weren't words of encouragement. They were a fact. A definite promise.

Suddenly, Ace remembered how to breathe again. He fell to his knees and stared down at his own two weak hands that couldn't save anyone.

* * *

Once he had given the order, there was no going back. They would be seen by the World Nobles, and their whereabouts would become known by the entire world. Shanks knew all of this, and knew he was risking it all for just bunch of kids - and damn, had he really become this soft-? Shanks' thoughts were all over the place. However, a cool calm took over him once he saw aboard the ship where the World Noble was aiming his weapon towards the already sinking boat.

"Fire a warning!"

And just like that, their attention was on them. The World Noble was furious at them, Shanks could tell, but before they could take any action towards their much smaller vessel, they had already succeeded in making a wall between the small boat and the Noble's ship.

And then, there was a stare-down.

Shanks' eyes stayed locked with the World Noble's - they were that close - as if daring him to make a move. This way of buying time was desperately needed in order to save the boy from his sinking boat.

While the Celestial Dragon considered his options, Shanks could hear how the rescue mission progressed from behind him. Once he heard the relieved shouts of the boy who had got them in that mess in the first place, Shanks knew it was time to go. It was also when the Celestial Dragon had decided that he couldn't take the insult.

It was like that the crew once again found themselves fighting for their lives. However, escaping from the single World Government ship was almost child's play for the men who had been running for nearly 7 months, and they reached open waters quickly and without injury.

Shanks was glad to see the two children reunited, but that joy was soon gone when they had to taste the true power of going against the will of a World Noble. Battleships gathered around them from all directions, blocking their path completely.

"Seems like they intend to sink us here," Benn pointed out.

"Then let's make sure not to give them that satisfaction."

They pushed ahead, planning on breaking through the line. There was no other way.

It was just when they were preparing to fire the cannons that something changed. Although they were far from Grand-Line, the weather took a sudden change for the worst. Strong winds forced the ships to change their course just to stay afloat, and so the wall of battleships crumbled in front of their eyes.

"This is our chance!" Shanks shouted and encouraged the men to guide the ship to safety.

"An unknown vessel at five o'clock!" A watch shouted from the rear. Shanks quickly joined him to confirm his sightings, and saw an unmarked ship following them.

"Who the hell are you?" Shanks quietly questioned, knowing that the ship belonged neither to the nobles or the Marines. However, he didn't have a chance to question it further as a fleet of battleships managed to get close enough to fire their cannons. Shanks pulled out his weapon for the first time since losing his arm, intent on protecting his crew.

They kept losing speed with the battleships blocking their way and the much bigger unmarked ship was quickly right behind them. To everyone's surprise, the ship attacked the battleships instead of them, and forced its way in between the two sides. With the horrid weather it was impossible to tell who the cloaked people aboard the anonymous ship were, but Shanks took the chance they had been offered.

Their ship sailed away from the stormy seas, leaving behind their rescuers and their pursuers.

Once the wind had calmed and they were surrounded by nothing but endless sea, they could finally take a breath of relief.

Shanks took a damage report, ordered a good meal to be prepared for the men, and set a new course for them. With all his duties, he completely forgot about the two extra passengers they had. It was only when the blonde boy came to thank him that he realized his mistake.

"Thank you for saving me," the blonde told and gave a small bow. "I'm in your debt."

Shanks opened and closed his mouth, trying to decide whether to answer the boy or scream at the fact he forgot they were there.

The freckled boy stood behind his friend, looking surprisingly sullen despite the feat they had accomplished with the near-impossible rescue.

Shanks threw his head back and held his palm against his forehead. "Oh shit..." he muttered. The two boys looked confused when he remembered, "I was supposed to take you back to the village."

And like a child, Shanks whined over his shoulder to his first-mate. "Benn~, what are we going to do? Now there are more kids aboard!"

Benn almost laughed at his captain. "Guess we need to have them around for a little while. It's not like we can just drop them off here, and going back isn't exactly an option."

"But they're just a bunch of brats!"

"Are they?" Benn questioned and glanced at the said boys. It was a challenge for them, Shanks knew.

He fixed his straw-hat on his head and looked at the two kids. "Just until we find a place to drop the two of you off at, you hear?"

The two couldn't hide their excitement with the grins that spread on their faces.

Shanks told one of the men to show the two around and find them some work to do. He had better things to do than babysit.

He went to his quarters, and closed the door behind him softly. His steps were soft as he went to the smaller of the two beds in the room, lifting up the chair that had fallen over. He sat down and reached his hand towards the small figure in the bed, softly petting his dark hair before feeling his forehead.

Luffy was once again sick with fever, his small, weak body unable to take the stress of Shanks' injury. The man knew the boy would be fine in a few days time as it wasn't uncommon for him to be sick, but the knowledge never made it easier to watch.

"Hey Anchor," Shanks spoke softly, "it looks like we're going on another adventure."

* * *

 **Unfortunately, I don't have time for questions this time. But thank you again for all the support you have shown.**

 **Although it might be a while,**

 **Until next time!**


	10. Chapter 9 - Behind the curtains

**I almost can't believe that I actually managed to write a new chapter. I thought hard about if I should just go and rewrite the whole thing but eventually decided against it.**

 **I can't promise that I can keep up a regular update schedule as I'll start my university studies in a couple weeks and right now I'm working almost without breaks. We'll see! It's definitely all thanks to the continued support (even though it's almost been a year since the last update...) that I can keep writing this story. You guys are seriously such precious things. Thank you.**

 **Ready to read about our cuties? Here's some recap:**

 **Dragon entrusts his only son to his father, Garp, who ends up being unable to protect the boy, Luffy, from the Marines. Luffy is raised in captivity not only as an important piece in politics, but also as a test subject for the mysterious Devil's Fruits. It is a single trip at sea with his grandfather that Luffy's life changes completely, as during an encounter with pirates, he ends up in the ship captained by the infamous "Red-Haired Shanks. There, he learns of the meaning of freedom, as well as the cost of it. Their journey together brings them to East Blue, where they end up taking aboard two more kids yearning for their own freedom.**

 **As always, unbetaed material, read it as such.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 9 - Behind the curtains**_

* * *

Most likely, they had made a terrible mistake. Whatever they had thought a pirate's life would look like - it was nothing quite like this.

There were no adventures to be seen, no monsters to fight, no robbing, no killing, no nothing! The only thing that was as they had imagined was the drinking. All day and night, the men would down more than a few barrels and somehow do it all again the next morning. There was always someone singing, but once they had heard the songs a hundred times in the one week they had been aboard, they became more of an annoyance. What was the worst, however, was that none of the pirates seemed to really mind what they sighed in a content manner to be "peace".

All the excitement that they had gone through with Sabo's rescue and their narrow escape had vanished from their memories with the pleasant breeze and sunshine while they sailed through the peaceful seas.

Ace and Sabo decided that these pirates were far from what they had originally thought. They weren't strong, or at least brave, and their lifestyle all but destroyed the image they had of pirates. Cowards was what they were.

And it wasn't like they could go back anymore either. In the middle of the ocean, there was little they could do but wait for the next island to appear. Then, it was just a matter of leaving to start a new life. Perhaps they would start building their pirate ship and show these idiots what a real pirate looked like. Until then, they had a lot to put up with.

With eyes on them around the clock, Sabo and Ace were cautious in their every action, both not wanting to anger their rescuers and not wanting them to know much about the two of them. Safer that way, Sabo had said.

However, more than the waiting and crappy singing, something else entirely was testing their level of patience.

"Ne, what's your name?"

Ace swore that he was going to lose his mind every time the kid spoke.

"Those googles are so cool! Can I try them on?"

It was far easier to say "let's just ignore him," than actually do it.

There had to be a limit to how long he could hold himself back. Ace had never been the patient type, but he knew that if he killed this annoying idiot now, he wouldn't live to see another day either.

"Are you guys pirates? You don't look like pirates."

But, GOD DAMN! He was about to lose it. They kept walking around the deck, but the kid didn't leave them alone for a second. If he would say another word-

"Hey, hey, hey~!"

"SHUT UP, YOU BASTARD!" he screamed. The kid behind him froze and stared at him with wide eyes.

"Ace...!" Sabo warned, and the red he saw cleared just enough for Ace to see what his outburst had caused. Everyone on the deck was staring at them.

Not wanting to lose his head quite yet, Ace pushed his anger down. He clicked his tongue in annoyance and glared at the kid, trying to scare him.  
"Let's go, Sabo."

The kid behind them took a step to follow them, and Ace lost it for a moment again.  
"Don't follow us!" he shouted at the kid, who just kept staring at the two of them with his impossibly big eyes. Something about the kid seriously rubbed him the wrong way.

The kid had been following them for two days straight without leaving them alone for even a moment. It was seriously testing their limits. So many times Ace had just wanted to kick the kid off the ship, but Sabo had been smart enough to stop him each time.

The kid - Luffy - was a small mystery for them. Not only his existence itself, as he was far too harmless to cause for the world to hunt and kill him (he kept tripping over his own legs, for god's sake), but also his existence on the pirate ship. The captain was clearly not that interested in having kids aboard (Ace still remembered how they had killed the bandits in cold blood) as they were weak and would potentially cause them trouble. Yet there they were, three kids aboard their ship. It all made little sense to them but seeing how comfortably the kid clung onto the captain's leg as he walked across the deck they knew there had to be some reason. Something they just hadn't understood yet.

* * *

They had no idea how wrong they had been.

Out of that dull shell of a life as a pirate, something exploded out with such force it threw them off their feet and made their hearts almost beat out of their chests.

This happened only two days after they were giving up on all they believed in and were just about ready to try to swim to some nonexistent shore. Boredom was deadly.

It was out of blue that there was a sort of tremor which passed after a few minutes but it caused the atmosphere to change instantly on the ship. In only those few moments all those men who they had thought to only be hopeless drunks transformed into the pirates they had seen in the village. They stood up tall and a power started to radiate from them that made Ace and Sabo feel as if they had shrunk in size. They felt _tiny_ in comparison to whatever these men possessed. However, there was a strange atmosphere of ease. Something was about to happen but the men were _smiling_.

The two of them could only stare in wonder as the captain stood from his spot and walked to the edge of the deck. The power that he seemed to radiate was far more intimidating than anything they had felt before. And they realized that they had been wrong about them. No, they had just forgotten.

These people were pirates.

And there was the kid again. Oblivious to what the two of them were experiencing he skipped after the captain with no worries on his mind. Their eyes met for a brief moment and the boy almost seemed to give a knowing smile. Maybe, just maybe, he _did_ know.

It was a strange contrast. Maybe like seeing a bear and its weak cub next to it. No, it was like seeing the giant tiger from the forest along with a baby bunny. Two things that shouldn't be together. Strong and weak. And so they wondered once again: why was the kid allowed at the man's side when he had nothing?

They had no chance to wonder about the change that had occurred on the ship when the ship suddenly rocked to the side and water splashed violently, creating almost a small rainstorm over them. They tried to cover their eyes from the rocketing droplets, and only when they could open their eyes again they saw the long shadow stretched across the deck. Their eyes quickly found the source when a strange creature stood as tall as their mast, staring right at them, its red eyes fixed on all of them.

"A sea-king, huh? Did you get lost, coming all the way here?" Shanks questioned the monster that let out a strange, deep grumbling noise. For a second, the creature seemed to think about something, then jerked its head up and let out a kind of scream.

"Sorry, but we need to get pass," the man said to the monster but it didn't seem to like the idea as it suddenly opened its jaws and lunged towards the captain - clearly planning to eat him. Again, the dark-haired man - Benn - was there, his weapons blocking the creature's enormous teeth from reaching his captain. Shanks hadn't even flinched. Luffy was still there as well, hiding slightly behind the red-haired man's leg but was staring at the monster in a sort of awe.

"Shanks! It's a Sea king!" Luffy suddenly shouted, looking very proud of his discovery.

"Yes, it's a Sea king alright," Shanks confirmed. "Wanna go beat it up?"

Luffy's eyes almost seemed to sparkle and he jumped out of hiding. He nodded furiously. "Can I? Can I?!" he asked and couldn't stop jumping around.  
Shanks grabbed the kid under his arm and without giving an answer, he kicked off the ship and jumped all the way above the creature's head.

Ace and Sabo had no idea they hadn't even seen everything yet.

Benn let his weapon fall once the creature retreated, and none of the men moved to help their captain even as he seemed to have let himself become the perfect meal for the "Sea king". The monster was about to open its mouth again to catch the falling pair inside what would become their grave, but Shanks moved before it could. What the two of them first thought was a some kind of rope they soon realized was an arm _stretching_. Their jaws dropped when they saw it was Luffy's arm.

"Wha- it's stretching!" They screamed and earned only laughs from the other men.

The arm went straight towards the creature's mouth but somehow managed to find its nose where it grabbed hold. Then, the two of them were flying towards the thing with impossible speed. In all that, the two missed the part where Luffy was flung onto Shanks' back and what they saw was a blade being pulled out. That sword hit its target straight between the eyes with the speed of a rocket, and the thing was dead in a split second.

The excitement being too much for him, Sabo fell to his knees and could only stare, like Ace, at the two figures that almost seemed to fly in the air.

"Luffy!" Benn shouted and extended his arm out towards the two. Soon, although it was completely unnatural, a small hand appeared in his, and the man held on even as the two flung towards them like a cannonball. Barely evading the impact, the man stepped aside as Shanks and Luffy were heading towards the other end of the ship. The red-haired man somehow managed to land on his feet and kept his balance as he skidded across more than a few floorboards. Eventually stopping, Luffy fell on the ground and almost seemed to _bounce_ when laughter erupted from him.

"That was awesome!"

Shanks chuckled, in a carefree manner that didn't match the sight behind them where the creature finally slumped back into the ocean, creating another splash of water that rained down on them.

"Get any stronger than this and I won't be able to stick the landing, Anchor," the man told the boy, who seemed more than pleased with the comment.

"So how was it? My attack!" the boy asked excitedly.

"Needs more practice," Shanks teased.

Ace and Sabo couldn't move after such events happening too quickly. Keeping their head together already took enough of their brainpower. They stared as Luffy argued with the captain, the man humoring the kid along with his first-mate, as some men were looking to see where the Sea king had gone under. It was a bizarre thing to witness.

"Ace..." Sabo managed, "who are these people?"

But Ace had no answer.

* * *

There was quite little two boys could do on a small, cramped ship surrounded by rowdy adults who they had no interest in befriending. Even so, it was one of Shanks' favorite pastimes to watch the two fight the impending boredom by various means.

He always sat somewhere afar, just looking from the shadows and never getting involved with anything that they did. He liked to observe the two of them and learned much about their life before in that way. When they had finally become a usual sight on the ship and no one paid that much attention to them, that's when they struck. They were so subtle with their movements that none of the men had noticed what was going on.

They would casually walk around the deck, talking in toned-down voices, and on the outside it seemed there was nothing out of the ordinary. However, Shanks' trained eyes quickly saw the truth. The kids were _stealing_ from others. It was beyond amusing.

Benn had warned not to let it get out of hand, and reminded that not everyone was willing to be so lenient on the two of them. Shanks however, couldn't help himself. He let it all go and watched as every day the same thing repeated in one shape or another.

Until they found something else to do.

Shanks ignored the fact that the two had taken two long iron bars from somewhere without permission and watched as the two sparred with each other with fervor, neither giving an inch. To all of them it looked a tad bit clumsy and inexperienced, yet there was something pure with the way they fought that created sparks of excitement everywhere in the air, calling an audience around them. Soon, there was a crowd of men cheering them on and betting on the winner, only further spurring the two on.

Shanks saw, perhaps for the first time, how Ace's expression changed a little. The cautious fear that he had tried to hide so well melted away and Shanks could swear he saw the boy's lips twitch into a tiny smirk, if only for a moment.

"Was this a part of your plan?" Benn asked. He too, had decided not to get involved and stayed on the sidelines for the match.

"No, this is all their doing."

Luffy sat perched on a railing in front of him overseeing the deck below and even through the back of his head Shanks could tell how his eyes were almost sparkling with excitement. He could hardly stay still and his small frame shook with that feeling rushing through him.

He once again mused about the fact that his role as a captain had taken a whole new face as now he was not only a leader but also a guardian.

Sparring was strictly forbidden on the ship. Had been, at least. Then again, how much damage could such small hands do anyway?

Just as that thought crossed his mind, Ace roared in frustration as Sabo kept evading all his swings and he jumped up, planning to catch the blonde from above. This gave the other plenty of time to dodge, leaving Ace's metal bar connecting against the floorboards. Which, surprisingly, couldn't take the impact as well as they thought. The boards cracked and groaned, leaving splinters everywhere and a big, round dent on the floor.

Everything stopped.

The stunned silence lasted for a good three seconds before the shouting started.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" "YOU JUST BROKE THE SHIP!" "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, YOU IDIOTS!?"

The two boys threw down their weapons and backed into a corner, their eyes revealing more fear than there should have been. Clearly, they still misunderstood their intentions in many ways.

Shanks broke into a hearty laughter, silencing the angry men with just that. Luffy's tensed shoulders fell and he jumped at Shanks' arm that caught him with practiced ease, as the man walked closer so all his men could see him.

"Now, now," Shanks said, "It's just a few broken floorboards - nothing to get so worked up about."

The tension was gone in a mere few seconds. Shanks saw how some glanced at his missing arm and seemed a little ashamed of themselves.

"Ace, Sabo," Shanks called for the kids who came out of hiding a little nervously. "Next time, try to control your strength a little, alright?" The two looked baffled at the lenient treatment and nodded several times.

"Now, help the kids fix that up, alright?" he added, and some guys groaned as a response.

He was about to head to his room when a voice called back. "No! Please let us fix it. We broke it after all."

Sabo's eyes were pure and honest - qualities about children that Shanks had found himself to be a little envious of - and could not refuse his request. He nodded and said nothing, not wanting to put any pressure on the kid. Fixing a ship wasn't as easy as one would think, especially for someone shorter than the sword resting at his hip.

Luffy's eyes never left the two, his gaze tightly locked on the two boys over Shank's shoulder.

* * *

He woke up to banging sound coming from outside. It was pitch black all around him, even when he opened his eyes, and for a moment he wondered if he was just dreaming. However, the sound persisted, and he found himself waking up. He pushed himself up to a sitting position and the straw hat that had been covering his face fell down on his lap. It found its place on the top of his head next, and he could finally make out the room a little better with the small amount of light coming in from the gap of the ajar door.

Shanks realized a little more slowly than he hoped that the door was supposed to be closed in the middle of the night and that the blanket on Luffy's bed should only have been resting so flatly against the mattress if there was a small bundle nestled next to him. There wasn't.

Every time he lost sight of the boy, he couldn't deny that his stomach would drop a little and that his throat felt a little too tight until he saw him again. For his defense, the boy was the master of getting into trouble.

Tonight the luck was on his side as he didn't have to go far to find him. He was right outside, sitting under the moonlit sky, staring at the deck below. Shanks approached him quietly and crouched behind him to see what the boy was looking at.

Ah. It was the two boys. They really were planning on fixing the ship by themselves. For a moment, he felt as fascinated at the sight as Luffy was, watching Sabo measure and draw lines on the boards, looking through a book for instructions, as Ace would saw and hammer as told by the other. They worked in almost a strange peace, each knowing exactly what their role was and seemed to know exactly what the other was thinking. You could almost call it 'harmony'.

Shanks peeked into Luffy's dark eyes and saw how they were deep with his secret thoughts. His expression revealed nothing, and every time Shanks saw him stare at something like this, he found himself being drawn into it.

"What are you thinking about there, Anchor?" Shanks quietly asked and sat down next to him softly as to not make any sound.

There wasn't even a smallest twitch on Luffy's face to indicate he had even heard Shanks, and his eyes never left the scene in front of him. "Ace and Sabo..." he started and closed his mouth again. Shanks waited patiently for the boy to continue. "They're kids but... they're really different from me."

"What do you mean by that?" Shanks couldn't help the small smile that rose to his face whenever Luffy was thinking so deeply about something.

"I dunno. But somehow, it's like that. I mean, why else won't they be friends with me?"

Shanks felt a little sorry for the kid. They all had definitely had a little too rosy picture painted when the kids had first arrived that the three of them could become friends. They had hoped that Luffy would be able to be a kid for once if he could play with actual children and not some old men with the mental ages of ten-year-olds. The reality hadn't quite turned out to be as kind, and while Shanks hoped that it wouldn't affect Luffy too hard, even that wish seemed to have been mere wistful thinking.

It was hard to find an answer to something like that, and Shanks found himself looking at the two boys again.

They hadn't seemed to notice their presence and were completely focused on their task, and seeing their somewhat relaxed expressions made Shanks feel a little relieved. Perhaps it was when they could be just the two of them like this that they could feel safe.

A thought came to him. "You see, Luffy, friends help each other, right?"

Luffy nodded.

"I think Sabo and Ace are just so used to helping each other that they think they don't need help from anyone else."

"Yeah, they're always by themselves!" Luffy agreed.

Shanks smiled at himself. He came up with a great answer after all. "Maybe you can help them a little sometime then? I think they would appreciate some help when they don't know something about this ship or us, for example. You can help with that, right?"

Luffy's eyes grew wide as he looked at Shanks. His shoulders rose and a smile finally grew onto his face. "Yeah! I'll help!"  
Shanks patted Luffy's head. "Good. Now, how about we go back to bed?"

Luffy nodded and - the spoiled kid he was - raised his arms in a silent request to be carried. Shanks swore to himself that he was a lost cause if he was trying to raise the kid to be a pirate someday, and he hoped that those big, innocent eyes never lost their power so that the whole world might just crumble at the sight of them like he already had.

Luffy quickly snuggled against Shanks' chest when he was off the ground, and so he missed how Ace was now staring at them. Shanks could quite not place the feelings behind the usual, hard look, but if he were to guess, it would have been something akin to envy.

* * *

 **No question corner this time, folks, but do submit any questions or suggestions you might have and we might see them in the bottom of the next chapter (whenever I get that one done).**

 **And yes, not much going on in this chapter, mostly just little old me getting used to writing again. Hoping it's not a letdown, but honestly I think I write best when I do it for the funzies.**

 **Until next time!**


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